printOn ‘Criminalizing Protest in the States,” RT reports: “Last month that H.R. 347, the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011, had overwhelmingly passed the US House of Representatives after only three lawmakers voted against it. On Thursday this week, President Obama inked his name to the legislation and authorized the government to start enforcing a law that has many Americans concerned over how the bill could bury the rights to assemble and protest as guaranteed in the US Constitution.”
Under the Trespass Bill’s latest language … someone could end up in law enforcement custody for entering an area that they don’t realize is Secret Service protected and “engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct” or “impede[s] or disrupt[s] the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions.”
All the while, the US preaches about the demos and its rights to the rest of the world.
At first, it was reported that, “The only members of Congress to reject this alarming evisceration of the First Amendment were two Tea Party Republicans– Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Paul Broun of Georgia, and GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul of Texas.”
Another later news item has it that Paul “ABSTAINED on the final vote.” Is this possible? Please find out. I am finding it hard to believe.
UPDATE: Thanks, MyRon Pauli. Dr. Paul did not let us down, after all.
I feel like the frog in the pot of cool water being slowly warmed up. Our freedoms are being deleted one by one.
I found this link:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2011-149
Sad to say that his retirement will be the end of principled dissent in one branch of government.
Speaking of DEMOCRACY in action – how come no one notices that 75% of Americans want to leave Aftoiletstan and yet 98% of delegates to 2012 Presidential candiates are pro-war??
But it is hard to blame Dr. Paul for leaving – after fighting the fight for 40 years in a corrupt sea of statism, he probably wants to enjoy his grandchildren.
Ron Paul voted no on the main bill, then wasn’t there for the Senate amendment. On the senate amendment he was ABSENT but Open congress doesn’t show any absent, just how you vote or abstain. go to the clerk’s report at thomas.gov and it shows Ron voted NO on the main bill http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll149.xml again, there was another vote on the bill which was an amendment and he wasn’t there for that one. But he did vote no on the main bill and he never ‘abstained’.