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| People breathing, singing and 'spectating' at the Wisconsin Capitol drew the wrath of Scot Walker in First Amendment fights lost by Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans. Photo by Lisa Wells |
Today the Wisconsin Solidarity Sing Along folks—who have the unmitigated gall to sing civil rights and labor songs daily at the state capitol—have a notice out (Facebook):
"The Walker Administration adopted new rules after its previous [speech] permit scheme was declared unconstitutional by ten different local judges. ... The only notifications given [to Capitol Police] by the Solidarity Sing Along are in the lyrics of their songs: 'We're Not Going Away' and 'We''ll Be Here 'til Wisconsin Gets Better.'"
The singers will be back every Noon to our capitol, which "functions, both literally and symbolically, as a city center and is fully utilized as a public space to which all have claim," as noted as well by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley in Michael Kissick vs. Michael Huebsch and David Erwin (Mal Contends).
The federal ruling was followed by Wisconsin Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg's opinion of the 4th District Court of Appeals ruling for a unanimous panel against Walker, and for the First Amendment. (State of Wisconsin v. Michael W. Crute (2014AP659)).
Conley cites Wisconsin's National Historic Landmark Nomination document, among other historical capitol documents in his 2013 preliminary injunction against Walker and Walker's former bodyguard-come-chief-of-captiol-cops (David Erwin) that led to a free speech victory over Walker.
Walker lost a series of state and federal legal challenges by Wisconsin citizens, a time during which Scott Walker actually locked down the Wisconsin state capitol, so averse is Walker to speech he finds in opposition to his regime (Halsted, Wisconsin Public Radio).
Citizens—with all legal rulings in agreement—cited the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of expression in repeated defeats for Scott Walker.
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| Scott Walker and Wisconsin Capitol cops lost their anti-First Amendment battles time and again. Capitol Police arrest a protester during a Solidarity Sing-Along patriot in 2013. Photo: OLB (CC-BY-NC-SA) |
Reads a January 2015 news piece:
"A Wisconsin appeals court ruled on Thursday morning [in January 2015] that a state requirement for singers in the state Capitol to obtain a permit was unconstitutional."
The ruling by Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg of the 4th District Court of Appeals appears to be the last word on the matter, which became a hot-button issue during the summer of 2013 when Capitol Police arrested hundreds of protesters for singing in the Capitol rotunda without a permit," (Halsted, Wisconsin Public Radio). (emphasis added)
Concludes Wisconsin appellate Judge Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg of the Wisconsin Fourth District Court of Appeals in her 2015 Crute opinion:
'[T]he State [of Wisconsin] fails to persuade us that it met its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the rule was a constitutional restriction on speech and expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.'How will Scott Walker's assaults on the First Amendment fly with voters in the Granite State, the nation's first presidential primary?
Contact the New Hampshire Union Leader and other newspapers and find out.
Email letters@unionleader.com
or snail-mail at:
Letters
New Hampshire Union Leader
P.O. Box 9555
Manchester, NH 03108-9555
Or contact the Concord Monitor; and other New Hampshire newspapers.
Live free or die is a sacred commitment, lacking in Scott Walker's conception of America. Reference Michael Kissick v. Huebsch and Erwin; Dane County Judge Frank Remington's ruling for other victims of Walker; and Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg's ruling for the First Amendment and Wisconsin citizens.
The ongoing First Amendment knock-down against Scott Walker should be part of the campaign discussion as federal civil right suits continue against the man who thinks he can be elected president of the United States.
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