Inflatable Rat Not Free Speech

[Pyrrho]

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/news/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?o0329_BC_OH--RatFight&&news&newsflash-ohio


The International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers claims in a lawsuit that the city discriminated against union workers and violated their constitutional right to free speech. The workers were picketing near an auto dealership in the southwestern Ohio city on July 31 and were cited by police for violating a city ordinance by placing the balloon in the public right of way along a street.

But the city said the rat balloon isn't protected by the First Amendment when left as a freestanding structure along a street.

John Clemmons, a lawyer for the city 20 miles north of Cincinnati, said that if the city isn't allowed to keep the inflatable rat out of the right of way, it will have to allow all forms of speech there, including political signs.


http://at.yorku.ca/~elliott/home/giant_rat/rat.html

[American]

What about inflatable Ratt?

http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/images/ratt6mp.jpg

[Ladewig]

But the city said the rat balloon isn't protected by the First Amendment when left as a freestanding structure along a street.

The city is so wrong that it should change its name to Wrongville. This is exactly the type of thing the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution.

[Tony]

Originally posted by Ladewig


The city is so wrong that it should change its name to Wrongville. This is exactly the type of thing the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution.

I dunno, can you show me where the constitution says we have the right to freely display blow-up rats? :p

[Agammamon]

The same place it say we have the right to walk around with a sign.

[BPSCG]

Originally posted by Ladewig


The city is so wrong that it should change its name to Wrongville. This is exactly the type of thing the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution. So the first amendment trumps everything? Would it just be "exercising my free speech" if I got a hundred-foot long banner that says "Randi Is Great - www.randi.org" and draped it across I-95?

[Tony]

Originally posted by Agammamon
The same place it say we have the right to walk around with a sign.

It was a joke.

[Checkmite]

Next time I feel that I disagree with my local mayor's policies, I'll park a tractor-trailer across a major street to help dissuade the ignorant from entering such a horrible city.

[Skeptic]

So, if an inflatable rat is alone in the forest and nobody sees it, does it make a free speech statement?

Apparently not...

[HarryKeogh]

there was one of those inflatable rats at a constructions site by me. took up a perfectly good parking spot and they didnt even feed the parking meter. and of course no one wrote the rat a parking ticket.

unions can bite me.

[Dancing David]

If an inflatable rat makes a politcal contribution to the party of it's choice, is it free speech?

[Ladewig]

Originally posted by Ladewig


The city is so wrong that it should change its name to Wrongville. This is exactly the type of thing the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
So the first amendment trumps everything? Would it just be "exercising my free speech" if I got a hundred-foot long banner that says "Randi Is Great - www.randi.org" and draped it across I-95?

My bad. I couldn't find the precise smiley face I wanted so I left it off. The tongue one I think is most appropriate. :p The other option was to follow it up with "If we can't display giant inflatable rats, then the terrorist have already won."


______________________________
"I say to the government, you can have my giant inflatable rat when you pry it from my cold dead fingers."

[BillyTK]

I'm disappointed, I thought from the thread title that this was about why inflatables rats instead should replace free speech, not that inflatable rats aren't considered free speech...

Inflatable rats for congress! Inflatable rat for president!