There was a nice disabled Veitnam War Veteran standing in front of a US Post Office collecting signatures to recall Speaker Andy Dillon from his seat in the Michigan Legislature for raising taxes $1.4 Billion. He was told he could not be there. So, he called me. When I got there I went in to speak to the postmaster of the Dearborn Heights post office. He said we could not be there. I thought this case was settled. I went out and started to collect signatures by myself. With the veteran watching in his car.
Along came a Dearborn Heights police car and tried to park out of sight. He never approached me, but he did watch. He left after seeing that I was disturbing no one. The Postal Police arrived. He says "You are breaking the law!" I say "what law?" "The postal laws" he says. This is private property and a private company. I say "this is a monopoly allowed by the government with my tax dollars. Now cometh two more Postal Police. They say they can ask for my ID, arrest me, write me a ticket or haul me off to jail. If this is not a government related facility by who's authority do they get to do all that? I called my attorney who said the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Court of Appeals and the decision to allow us access has not been finalized. They threatened the vet who was in the car with the confiscation of his camera because he was taking pictures. Another friend came with a camera and never got off a shot because they were going to take his camera. This was entirely to Stalinesque for me. So I left. Represntative Beatram Johnson was lending his car out to the blocker at the post office that day.
If you read the trespass notice you will see that I am restricted from collecting signatures on Postal Property. With that in mind, I am inviting you to attend our rally on Tuesday, April 15, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on the perimeter of the Redford Post Office. "Mr. Perks" the 9ft. pig will be there to greet you. Bring a sign if you can or get one from us. You had to work 189 days last year to pay federal, state and local taxes and it will be more this year. Come tell government to cut the spending, support the recall of Andy Dillon and tax us fairly.
2 comments:
Can government entities besides Congress restrict petitioning?
No. The U.S. Supreme Court has incorporated the petition clause of the First Amendment as part of the 14th Amendment’s guarantees against the states. The petition clause applies equally to state and local governments and protects petitions directed to the judicial, executive and legislative branches.
The petition is your protection. The above copied from the first amendment center at http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Petition/faqs.aspx?faq=all
The post office IS a government entity. They do not have the right to stop you.
Thank you for your coverage of the Andy Dillon recall campaign.
The lawsuit you're talking about is called Initiate & Referendum Institute v. United States Postal Service. You can follow its fate at Ballotpedia.
Good luck.
Post a Comment