Thursday, September 15, 2011

Assembly Rules on Video Taping Breaks Law, Citizens Ejected from Assembly's only day in Session.

Creeping fascism? It's looks like Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's Mike McCabe was right the other day in making that observation. What we're talking about in this case is the ability of the public to video tape their elected representatives doing the peoples work, and having the right denied.

From Facebook's "Shit Scott Walker is Doing to My State," that describes its self this way...
"Essentially this is a page for information about the shit that Scott Walker is doing to Wisconsin. Scott Walker in this sense means literally the governor of Wisconsin but for the context of this page Scott Walker is being used to refer to anyone working towards the same twisted agenda.
This stunning video clip of Wisconsinites being ejected for video taping their government in action defies all logic, not to mention state law. According to the YouTube description of the clip:
Wisconsin has a LAW ss 19.90 which states "Whenever a governmental body holds a meeting in open session, the body shall make a reasonable effort to accommodate any person desiring to record, film or photograph the meeting.”

Seems pretty straightforward, but the Assembly has a "rule" which bans any and all cameras from the gallery.

There was a recent US circuit court case about filming police where they ruled that citizens have the right to film public officials while in a public space, while they are serving in their public capacity and also included.

"Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest,"

It's fair to mention this recent outrage in June: A few of the same people simply stood and held the Constitution in the public seating area and were ejected as well for...what nobody knows. 
During the 6-21-11 session when the Wisconsin Assembly passed the concealed carry bill respectful spectators in the gallery above held copies of the constitution silently. 



Just imagine a tea party wacko holding up the Constitution or the Gadsden flag and getting the same treatment?

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