An attorney for West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Director Frank Jezioro argued in U.S. District Court that the state’s Constitution Party cannot sue Jezioro over a ban on politics in state parks, the West Virginia Record reports. State CP leaders Jeff Becker and Denzil Sloan sued Jezioro and several others, “asserting a constitutional right to circulate petitions at the park. Last year, park personnel chased the party away from National Hunting and Fishing Day. Sloan and Becker want to circulate petitions at the event this year.”
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AND ON THE WEST COAST
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Oh heavens, no!
The worst possible thing that could ever happen to me on public land would be for someone to interrupt me and ask me to think for 2 minutes about being civically engaged.
What a nightmare!
The ACLU is right in this. Petitioners should be allowed in national parks. I can guarantee you that if the duopoly had to petition, there would be no controversy about petitioning in the park.
In this case, the CP needs support because their assertion is correct. I once dealt with a similar situation in 1991 where I was going to petition for a hemp initiative and have some speakers at a small hemp rally in Lake Elsinore, CA. The city denied me a usage permit and required anyone using the park for any sort of rally to purchase a one million dollar insurance bond.
I worked with attorneys from the Los Angeles ACLU on this matter and they agreed with me that free speech and petitioning on government property such as a park is a Constitutional right. We faced down the city and Lake Elsinore not only relented, but they also changed their parks usage policy to explicitly allow such gatherings without a permit or bond.
I wish the CP luck in this matter. The Constitution is definitely on their side.
The entire Third Party movement needs a rapid response team to deal with anti-democratic actions by government at all levels. Anyone got Root’s number? I hear he’s rich, and “into democracy”.