ACLU defends violent rap music
From NewsMax...
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a school district on behalf of a 14-year-old rap music fan who was expelled after he posted lyrics on the Internet in which, according to police, he threatened to shoot up his school and named a potential victim.
The ACLU said the songs by Anthony Latour, of Ellwood City, are protected speech, among other reasons, because they were composed at home and not brought to school. The suit says Latour's expulsion in May from the Riverside Beaver County School District violated his parents' right to control his upbringing.
"The school may not like Anthony's songs, but it is beyond their ability to dictate what he reads, writes or even raps at home," said Witold "Vic" Walczak, the ACLU of Pennsylvania's legal director.
Latour was expelled for the remainder of the last school year and this coming year. The lawsuit seeks to have Latour admitted to school when classes resume Aug. 31....
Latour was removed from class in April by North Sewickley Township police and charged with making terroristic threats and harassment because of lyrics he posted on the Internet. Those charges are still pending in juvenile court, where records are not public in Pennsylvania.
Interesting that the ACLU would defend this kid, while ignoring the other instances of Zero Tolerance policies, which seem much, much more egregious.
It also seems interesting that the ACLU, in this case, would defend “his parents' right to control his upbringing” yet not in this case, nor in these cases, nor here, nor here.
Meanwhile in New York the local version of the ACLU is whining because the already PC subway searches are not PC enough...
The New York Civil Liberties Union plans to file a lawsuit today challenging the legality of the Police Department's new policy of randomly searching bags and packages in the subway system.
The lawsuit, to be filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, contends that the searches are "virtually certain neither to catch any person trying to carry explosives into the subway nor to deter such an effort." It also says that many riders have been selected in a "discriminatory and arbitrary" manner, creating the potential for racial profiling.
Paul J. Browne, the Police Department's chief spokesman, said the searches, which began on the evening of July 21, were both effective and legal. Under the search policy, officers are to use an essentially random criterion - stopping every 5th, 12th or 20th passenger carrying a bag or package. Selecting riders on the basis of race or national origin is prohibited.
Could they be more stupid?
Related: Stop the ACLU Blogburst
Outside the Beltway Traffic Jam
Posted by Danny Carlton at August 4, 2005 06:23 AM