Whether you agreed with the Occupy Protester's on their salient points did you agree with their right to peacefully assemble as petition the government for their grievances?
During the Nashville Occupy protests Gov. Haslam ordered the arrest of dozens of protesters for being on public property. These arrests were ultimately found to be illegal arrests. The magistrate found that no law existed prior to the protests and that targeting the protests for being on public property AFTER they began protesting was improper.
Well the Governor has fixed that. SB 2508/HB2638 was signed by Governor Haslam on March 9, 2012 making it illegal to camp on public property. This vague and over broad legislation severely limits rights of freedom of speech and assembly.
I can see our forefathers fighting in the cold winters at Valley Forge so that someday the people of this nation can speak freely against their government without fear of recourse,,,,between the hours of 10:30am and 4:00pm M-F.
