The Tea Party Economist reports:
That pesky First Amendment had to be ignored this week. A candidate for governor in Minnesota was caught red-handed trying to collect signatures in a park. They were trying to get onto the ballot.Those who don't believe in the free market in goods and services : don't believe in the free market in speech.
The police saw what was going on: actions not allowed without a permit. Ever alert, they told the man and his unindicted co-conspirators to stop. He had not applied for, nor received, a permit.
They cuffed him and hauled him to headquarters.
He was arrested at Lake Calhoun. The lake was named to honor John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who resigned as Vice President in 1832 to protest the growing power of the government. He favored states rights and nullification. I don’t think he would have approved of this particular use of a state’s pre-1865 right to nullify the Constitution. We never know where one of our favorite ideas will lead.
A police officer said on camera: “You guys need to contact the park board and get a permit. You can’t promote, you can’t do any of that stuff without a permit.”
The charge against him? Advertising without a license.
Advertising without a license? The mind reels!
