The following letter was sent from Bel Air Independence Day Committee, Inc. Parade Chairman Michael I. Blum as a rebuttal to Del. Pat McDonough’s letter:
To the Editor:
The Bel Air July 4 parade is a non-sectarian, patriotic event, celebrating what is best about our country. All participants in the parade sign a contract in advance in which they specifically agree not to display any signs promoting a cause or issue, and not to campaign for office, or electioneer. Furthermore, each participant in our parade also agrees in advance in writing to obey all commands of the parade marshals, and agrees that failure to so do will subject the participant to immediate ejection from the parade.
These rules have been in place for decades — long before I became parade chairman in 1992 — and have been vigorously enforced every year, to the best of our marshals’ ability. These rules are non-sectarian, and have been observed by Republicans, Democrats, Independents — hundreds of high-minded individuals — without demur. We have been vigilant in enforcing them, too: against Republicans, Democrats, Independents — because they are the rules!
Our parade marshals are charged with carefully reviewing all parade units to make sure they are consistent with the rules. As the chief marshal, I also have to enforce the rules. It does not matter if a sign says “Break Up the USA,” “Vote for Me in 2010,” or “Speak English” — all such signs are treated the same. They violate the rules.
In fact, in every one of our parades, many elected officials gladly and willingly remove their campaign signs, or cover them up, just for us, because of this. This was very much the case last evening, with many of our elected officials. I respect and admire these people greatly — they are the best examples of dedicated public servants. Those who played by these rules and covered up or removed campaign signs included Harford County Councilperson Jim McMahan, Maryland State Delegate Susan McComas and Maryland State Senator Andy Harris. They believe in “playing by the rules” — particularly the rules they agreed in advance to honor.
It is regrettable that McDonough did not act in the same way. He greeted my request to remove his sign with obscene disrespect. He did not (and obviously still does not) understand that my role is to make sure everyone does what he or she has agreed in advance to do. I believe that we can judge a person by just that — does he or she do what he promised? Pat McDonough promised to obey the rules. When put to it, he refused to do so. By this egregious misconduct McDonough insulted the hundreds of volunteers who had worked for weeks to organize and manage the Bel Air parade, and he insulted the tens of thousands of spectators who have the right to expect their elected officials to keep their word.
Yours most respectfully,
Michael I. Blum
Parade Chairman
Bel Air Independence Day Committee, Inc.
was he removed from the parade or allowed to continue? sounds like he should have been removed.
Mr. Blum,
Thank you for that explanation. It seems to me that all politicians should be excluded from our parades unless they are not running for future office. Why else would they be in parades other than for name recognition that will be used in future elections? Frankly – it gives incumbents an unfair advantage.
Del. McDonough Strikes Back:
http://www.daggerpress.com/2009/07/06/mcdonough-the-constitution-and-free-speech-are-more-important-than-your-rule/
My 14 year old daughter received a lesson on Sunday from Blum about how freedoms and the zeal of independence needs to continually be rekindled. We were riding on my motorcycle with a sign and patriot hat….
Mike Blum was stationed in the presence of hundreds of people lining the streets at the beginning of the parade. When we came upon Blum at the a sign on my motorcycle that said “Del. Impallaria supports the Tea Parties!” Blum said, “I can’t support the Tea Parties…” (Like it was a personal insult…Nothing was said about any rules to me.) I replied well, its a free country (as if people in America do in fact have disagreements.) Blum wasn’t kidding… In front of hundreds of people lining the streets, he ripped the sign off the front of the motorcycle…with a resounding response from the crowd of boos and other expressions of disgust for Blum’s conduct. I don’t know what happened to the sign….
Blum is said to be lobbyist for different ideals.
Ideas that have been lost by Blum is freedom and liberty….the Bel Air parade, in my view, is not his private activity….He receives public funds for the parade; he uses public streets; and publicly paid security; Government closes down and impededs commerce on that day “for the public good”;and the parades — as one of their functions among many — is public expression of ideals that this Country was founded upon for an event which occurred 233 years ago that changed history and the world.
So, I disagree with Blum’s conduct, and in my view, he was rightfully “booed” and hissed upon.
Thank you Mr. Blum for enforcing the rules. When I go to a 4th of July parade I do not want others ideals and political leanings to be forced down my throat in the same way I would not force mine down someone else’s at that time. Public debates, newspapers, etc. are approriate forums to debate ideas. A parade should be more neutral so that ALL the citizens of Bel Air can enjoy it. As “red” as Harford County and Bel Air might be, not everyone is a republican–so let’s respect everyone’s rights–republican and democratic.
Mr. Blum – Your actions are beyond the pale.
For you to take it upon yourself to deny people’s freedom of expression and speech at a public event funded by taxpayers in celebration of Independence Day is the height of hypocrisy.
Reasonable people would agree that the messages on the signs displayed were not partisan, while you may disagree with them you are not the arbiter of free speech. Did you remove flags and banners that said “Live Free or Die” or “Give me Liberty or Give Me Death” which are part of our Nation’s history?
What you have done sir is deplorable. You should be ashamed of yourself!
Bel Air Citizen, Mr. Blum and parade zealots: I think you are confusing Bel Air’s 4th of July parade with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. How many floats did Bel Air’s parade have, 2? We don’t have hot air balloons of Dora the Explorer or famous celebrities waving from fancy vehicles–we have the politicians who have as much right to be in the parade as any one person or organization. If you don’t want to see the politicians, take a 3 hour hike up the road to see a “real” parade or just stay the hell home. And let me tell you something Mr. Blum, I can assure you that if I ever saw you ripping a sign out of someone’s hands, much less a child’s, Bel Air’s finest would be arresting me because you and I would have a little fight on our hands. To all of you thanking Mr. Blum for enforcing the rules, keep in mind he is enforcing the rules that in all likelihood he instituted.
Mr. Blum,
Delegate McDonough stated this morning on the Tom Marr show on WCBM (680) that parade marshals actually went up into the crowd and made spectators who had signs saying “I love Ehrlich” put them away. Is this charge true? If so when were the citizens presented with a contract?
Blue – These rules have been in place long before Michael Blum served as Parade Chairman. I know he has enforced these rules equally on both sides of the political isle as well as everywhere in between. I think the question everyone should be asking themselves is why did Pat McDonough and Delegate Impallaria sign a contract agreeing to the terms to participate in the parade and then think the contract did not apply to them.
The parade is designed to be a non-partisian celebration of our country’s independence – not a political or controversial gathering. We have 364 other days for politics and mud slinging. Many parade participants were asked to cover signs or other propaganda in violation of the agreement and did so with no issues. Now Pat McDonough is pontificating on how his freedom of speech rights were violated? I am embarrassed that McDonough and Impallaria behaved in the manner they did. I expect our elected officials to behave in an honorable fashion and to lead by example.
Blue – one other thing….signs were not ripped out of the hands of children. They were gently taken from the children. Speaking of zealots, what type of nut job gives controversial signs for children to display in a parade? The children have no idea the meaning of these messages. The messages on these signs are clearly controversial and some very hurtful. When we see other groups teach hate we have no problem condemning those people. Are our elected officials any different?
What a lot of you don’t get is that freedom of speech is a protected right – – – as long as it is politically correct and absolutely in concert with whoever is in charge. Political correctness stifles communication.
Dave you are right, freedom of speech is a protected right. However, you cannot use an e-mail network at work to send controversial e-mails, stand in the mall and protest, yell fire in a movie theatre or participate in a parade which is run by a private organization. These are all personal property issues and the freedom of speech does not extend your rights over others. You can stand ont he street corner with the sign but not participate in the parade with the same sign. A fine line? maybe, but it keeps me from standing on your front lawn or in your living room preaching my beliefs.
Bel Air Citizen, are you saying Democrats are opposed to supporting the constitution, lower taxes, & the tea parties which support individual freedom and smaller government among other things?
Dear Communicator – The Independence Day Parade is the “Public Square” and the event was funded with taxpayer money.
A company email network is privately owned and the owner has the right to decide what messages are transmitted.
Yelling “FIre in a Theater” when there is none is a criminal act against your fellow citizens. Was someone sitting on your front lawn or in your living room with a sign that said there was a fire in a theater at the parade?
Joe Caruso
tonto where did you get that from the post?
Joe I am not saying that some public funds go towards the parade but the majority is funded privately. The parade is still organized and promoted through a private organization, not the town of Bel Air
Dear Communicator – You are simply wrong!
The parade is a public event, on a public street, using public services, for a public not private purpose using tax money in part. If the private group wants to rent a private venue and pay for a private celebration they can have rules about signs to their heart’s content! What they can’t have is have it both ways.
Kindly and respectfully yours,
Joe
Joe, the parade is not put on by the town of Bel Air. It is put on by a 501c3 organization. A private party puts on the parade for the enjoyment of the citizens of Bel Air and Harford County. The fact that the parade is held on a public street is nor germane. The Macy’s parade is held on the streets of New York, but I guarantee you, Macy’s has a say what does and does not go in their parade. If someone did something controversial in the name of freedom of speech, Macy’s would pull them out of the parade in a New York minute – no pun intended. The same principle applies here.
If the contention is that since the parade is on a public street that makes it a public event; then does that mean since the tea parties are in a public area that they are public events and if people showed up to espouse a differing point of view you would have to let them using the forum you set up on a public area?
Cdev – good point. I think anyone wanting to state an opposing view at the tea party would be asked to leave (as they should) because the people holding the tea party are a private group and hold a permit for a public gathering. Just as Mr. Blum’s organization holds permits allowing them to host the Bel Air Parade.
What are the specific rules as stated in the contract? Are they specific about the contents of the signs, slogans, and other parade content, or are they as ubiquitous as stated above?
I understand the points of the parade being “non-partisan”, however I refuse to believe that a sign which states “I support the Constitution” is controversial. The fact that a sign which states such was removed, forcibly or not, from someone’s hands is outrageous. That is the most non partisan sign I’ve ever heard of, and I sure as hell wouldn’t give it up. What has this country/town come to when something so neutral is considered controversial? It’s the same with the “I Love Ehrlich” signs. Someone mentioned above that because this was an event organized by a private organization that sign shouldn’t have been allowed. So does that mean that if I am in someones home, and I was invited there, then I wouldn’t be allowed to say that? If there are rules, then we have a right to be notified of the rules. An example, albeit not a good one, driver’s education. Teenagers are required to take drivers ed before receiving their licenses. They are informed of the various driving laws throughout this course. If they break such laws then there are penalties for it. I found a link on the bel air independence day website to the rules, however they weren’t clearly stated, and from my understanding they were meant for people who were interested in signing up TO BE IN THE PARADE. Not for the public who were watching the parade. If the public is expected to follow said rules, then we have an expectation of this organization to post said rules on their website. If I’m at a parade, watching, and I want to comment that I “love Ehrlich” or that we should “support the constitution” who is anyone to tell me that I can’t say those things out loud.
I suppose we should go around and remove all the political bumper stickers that Bel Air residents have on their cars, don’t want to be displaying them in a public place. Also, the fact that Mr. Blum took a sign from someone who was on a motorcycle shows his complete disregard for personal safety. Granted they probably shouldn’t have been on a motorcycle with the sign, but what if(a big one too) he knocked the bike over? Or caused an accident? I’m sure his pockets are deep enough and he’s the type of person that would be able to make himself not be responsible for such an act. I am outraged and ashamed to live in a county and town that supports such acts of constitutional violation. I will be lobbying with local politicians as well as state officials to have this man answer for his actions.
I quote directly from the rules, which are online at
http://www.belairjuly4.org/innerpages/paraderules.html
“Units and marchers may not display signs or banners which promote a cause or could be considered by the average person to be picket signs or banners.”
joe: No signs were taken from any spectators. Spectators are completely free to say whatever they want and express themselves as they wish. To my knowledge there have never been any attempts to prevent them from doing so. Mr. McDonough has not even suggested that signs were taken from spectators.
Another few responses for joe: This entire incident happened in the staging area, while the participants were waiting to enter the parade route. All vehicles were stationary at the time. No one tried to pull a sign from the hands of a moving motorcyclist.
And as for your assumptions about the depth of Michael Blum’s pockets . . . don’t I wish that were true. He owns a local business with three employees.
In general, you ought to stop making unwarranted assumptions based on limited facts.
David,
So Mr. Steven Wright is lying in his above post when he said that Mr. Blum ripped the sign off of his motorcycle? What about the other accounts in Mr. McDonough’s original letter? I’m to believe that those were pulled out of thin air as well?
As for the rules, they need to be better stated on the website. I shouldn’t have to go digging for rules to an event if I’m expected to follow them. Secondly, I highly doubt that the average patriotic person would find a sign with the saying “Support the Constitution” to be offensive.
Joe, everyone entering the parade signs a contract agreeing to abide to the terms of the contract and are therefore allowed to participate in the parade. Everyone knows about the rules and agrees to them ahead of time.
I don’t think anyone is suggesting that you can’t say what you want, or have a bumper sticker on your car or anything else. The point is, if you want to participlate in the parade, you must follow the rules. That’s all, nothing more, nothing less. You can have a sign on the side of the road, you are not participating in the parade, you are a spectator.
David,
Let me ask you this. Since the theme of the parade was “American Patriots: Then and Now” would I have been told to remove a sign bearing the words “Don’t Tread On Me”? or what about “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”?
I apologize about the comment I made in regards to his pockets, I wish mine were that deep. Unfortunately living in this county for so long has not been a pleasant experience.
Could I walk in the parade sporting a sign that read the above slogans I posted?
Joe, there was no constitutional violation. Had a sign been taken from a spectator, then we have a constitutional issue. The participants in the parade agreed to follow the rules of the contract to enter the parade. Some of the participants either ignored the contract or thought it did not pertain to them. I would like to think that if you or I organized an event, had participants sign an agreement to follow certain rules that we would have recourse if someone broke the rules. Don’t you agree?
Sounds like Mr. Blum, violated the United States Constitution.
Mr. Blum should be removed from his position.
Because public funds are used for this event, and it is in a public place, the constitution is very clear that free speech shall not be abridged.
Mr. Blum was wrong on this issue and should face charges of theft and destruction of property.
A little time in jail just may teach Blum to respect people.
Mr. Blum, we don’t need people like you in our great state.
Joe,
I am sorry that you feel living in this country has not been a pleasant experience. I think we live in the greatest country on earth. In fact , I say that I think we, who live in the United States, have won life’s lottery. I have been to many foreign countries. I enjoyed visiting most of them but I am always glad to be back home. Our country may not be perfect, but I believe it is the best country in the history of mankind. We may not agree with each other, but we can have a healthy dialogue without fear of the government storming into our homes in the middle of the night and dragging us off to jail or worse. Again, it’s not perfect but it’s a damn good place to call home.
I do agree, but to what extent? I doubt sign bearing the slogan “Give me Liberty, or give me death” is controversial. I don’t feel that someone holding a sign bearing a slogan taken right from Patrick Henry would be controversial in a parade celebrating patriots past and present. I would hope that such a sign would be given some room in regards to the rules of being in the parade.
Greg, you are dead wrong. You could not have made a more inaccurate statement.
Joe, the Patrick Henry quote would have been controversial if it were used in its entirety and not taken out of context. In its entirety it is extremely strong language that our watered down society wouldn’t care for; but its the kind of language that is necessary and we will be returning to in order to return order to our country.
joe: Mr. Wright did not claim that his motorcycle was moving when the sign was removed. That is my point. Your idea that this was somehow a threat to safety is based on a misconception. Please read more carefully.
And I am not aware of any charges by Mr. McDonough that signs were taken away from spectators.
I agree with you that “Support the Constitution” is not offensive. It is a message I strongly approve of. But the rules don’t say anything about offensiveness, do they? These signs were not challenged because someone found them offensive. They were challenged because they were against the rules.
As I have said, I am not defending the rule here. I actually would like to see the prohibition against “promoting a cause” removed. The Independence Day Committee does not insist on keeping these rules exactly as they are. They have remained the same for nearly twenty years, simply out of inertia. If you actually talked to any of the permanent Committee members, you would find them perfectly ready to consider a rule change.
The rules don’t represent the personal philosophy of anyone involved here. They were written before Michael Blum started running the parade. Nobody even seems to remember who wrote them or why they were written that way. All Mr. Blum was trying to do was enforce them as impartially as he could, given his limited ability to actually affect what people do in the parade.
I happen to think that the Major League strike zone, as it’s generally called, is too wide and not tall enough. I’d like to see the umpires change the way they call it. But surely you’ll agree that an umpire can’t just change the shape of the strike zone in the bottom of the second inning.
Blaming Mr. Blum for the rules is ridiculous. He didn’t write them, and I’m not sure he even has the authority to alter them without the other Committee members’ consent. I suspect Mr. McDonough targeted him mostly because he is a Democrat. (That suspicion obviously reflects my low opinion of Mr. McDonough.) But others should not be too quick to follow Mr. McDonough’s lead in blaming Michael Blum for the whole affair.
Not country, county. This state and county in particular. I’ve lived all over the country, and this state has been the hardest.
Let’s stop with the personal attacks. They are pointless and ineffective.
All these attacks do is rile one another up. The issue is a legal one. If Mr. Blum acted inappropriately, I’m sure he will realize it and apologize.
The Communicator needs to take a frickin chill pill. Let’s be serious now. Let us all work together to determine what went wrong and how we can resolve it instead of fighting.
Here is an excerpt from the parade rules and regulations. As you can read they are both ambiguous and subjective. It is doubtful that they are in fact enforceable and it is likely the parade participants had even greater latitude in what they could have expressed.
d. No participant will be permitted to display material advertising any candidacy for public office, nor shall there be any campaigning along the parade route. THIS RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.
SIGNAGE RULES; HEIGHT AND WIDTH RULES
a. Signs or banners are NOT required for entrants in the parade but are encouraged in that they help spectators identify the entrant.
b. Signs or banners may carry the name of the unit, sponsor, patriotic statement or title, preferably in keeping with the theme of the parade.
c. Units and marchers may not display signs or banners which promote a cause or could be considered by the average person to be picket signs or banners.
Maybe The Blums et al should contact an experienced contract attorney who is also a consitituoinal scholar to review their contract.
Joe
joe: I didn’t see your latest posts until I had posted my previous one. Sorry!
You make a very good point about “Don’t Tread On Me” and “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”. In truth, I don’t know how the rules should be applied to signs bearing such slogans. “Promoting a cause” is too vague for my comfort. To some extent, a church group with a flag that says “Jesus” is promoting a cause. That’s one reason I would like to see this rule eliminated.
But I don’t think that the day of the parade is a good time to be making changes to the rules!
It may interest some to know that last year, the Kratovil group tried to pass out campaign pamphlets to the crowd during the parade. The marshals took them away. I think this was the right decision, given what the rules are.
You should also note that Mr. McDonough was not actually prevented from carrying his signs in this year’s parade. He refused to put them away, made a big fuss about it, and Mr. Blum gave up trying to stop him. Mr. McDonough is acting awfully victimized for a guy who WON an argument.
So do away with all signs, including advertisements (those of us who are sick of the car dealer ads would appreciate it), give the kids back the tossing of candy, bring in the Shriners and their little cars, trucks, etc doing tricks, and have winnie the poo dancing with a flag in the street. Move it away from all forms of advertisement, signage, etc., and make it fun again.
Having been to the Bar Harbor Maine parade numerous times, Bel Air’s is pretty boring. It doesn’t have an atmosphere of festive family fun, but it’s just one more Jones Junction advertisement. When my kid was no longer in marching band, I gratefully stopped attending.
I no longer blame Mr. Blum, I do blame the committee however for not taking a look at the rules and re-evaluating them. If no-one can remember who wrote them, or why they were written a certain way, then perhaps they should re-evaluate the rules, especially after the events of Saturday.
David,
I agree with you that the day of the parade is not a good time be to changing the rules. I was merely pointing out that a parade with that particular shouldn’t hold anything against slogans that this country was founded on.
Joe,
I agree. Perhaps it is a good time for the committee review the rules of the parade and to make some changes. A lot of confusion and controversy could be avoided in future years.
By the way, the committe who organizes this parade is an all volunteer committee. What is the saying…. No good deed goes unpunished?
Juls,
I understand that the Patrick Henry quote is normally shortened and taken out of context(my Father is a big Patrick Henry fan(not sure if thats right) and I was always taught history growing up, especially when it came to Henry). However the shortened version is the most associated and recognized, and therefore, in my opinion, isn’t controversial. And you’re right, our society is watered down, but thats another topic/discussion for another day.
joe, with your post #43, I completely agree. 🙂
juls, you’re right that there’s too much boring stuff in the parade. Most people I’ve talked to agree that the politicians and car clubs (who always bring way too many cars) are the most boring parts. But from what I hear, there was actually a proposal a few years back to stop inviting the politicians, and they responded with dire threats and outrage. The car clubs, meanwhile, don’t like to participate at all if they can’t bring as many cars as they wish. I think the problem is that they don’t want to have to decide who doesn’t get to bring his car!
We have had Shriners on three-wheelers in past years. They were always a big hit, and we’d like to have them every year, but they don’t always manage to show. The Shrine membership, unfortunately, isn’t getting any younger.
As for the no-throwing-things rule (it’s not just candy, but anything), that’s sort of an oddity. Don Stewart, the Committee President and something of a stickler for safety, claims that the purpose of the rule is to prevent little kids from running out into the street in pursuit of candy and getting run over. That seems very reasonable, but other parades in this area allow candy-throwing and I’ve never actually heard of any kids getting hurt that way. So that rule may represent an excess of caution.
(I hope it’s clear that the no-candy-throwing rule has nothing at all to do with the present controversy.)
David,
Thank you. I do agree with what you’ve said. I can understand about not wanting the politicians being there. One can only hope that they would come with pure intentions, but I feel that that is not the case. There was a similar situation at a concert I went to where I was approached by someone my age, who then proceeded to ask me what party I was affiliated with and if I’d like to register to vote. I politely told her that I didn’t come to the concert to discuss politics or my personal beliefs and that I was there to enjoy myself.
I feel like this is the idea that people have towards the parade. They don’t want to see politicians campaigning for their own benefit at an event that is designed to bring the community together for enjoyment. Also, the fact that the politicians who claim in their campaigns that they only want whats best for the people and the state would be outraged and respond with threats speaks volumes about their integrity. At least to me it does.
Maybe next year the tea party folks should organize their own parade and pay from their funds for the police and road closures. That way no one’s taxes will be affected and the free market can pay and then can have all the signs they want. I think the moral of the story is rules like that should be enforced only when it concerns other people.
I support the inclusion of car clubs when they participate with antique or customized cars. I do not appreciate a parade of new cars that are straight off the showroom floor just to advertise the dealerships. Big difference, but I guess they bought the spots with contributions, so money talks.
I wish Mike Blum could come down to Kingsville and help us clean-up our parade. It’s a lovely parade, and many volunteers work hard to put it on every year. I hated to see a couple politicians spoil it with their stupid and overdone signs.
In post #24 above David writes: “Mr. McDonough has not even suggested that signs were taken from spectators.”
Maybe the signs were not taken from spectators but Delegate McDonough has stated that spectators were directed to put them away and not display them. In his post on this site entitled “The Constitution And Free Speech Are More Important Than Your Rule”, Delegate McDonough states “telling parade watchers to put away their “I Love Ehrlich” signs”. Folks can easily check that reference.
On Monday morning, July 6th, Delegate McDonough appeared as a phone-in guest on the Tom Marr show on WCBM. He also in that interview related that parade marshals actually approached spectators in the crowd, and had those spectators who had signs saying “I love Ehrlich” put them away. I personally heard that radio program, but understand that source is much harder to check.
If the incident occurred to which Delegate McDonough is relating, I feel it is a clear violation of freedom of speech. What if someone was wearing a tee-shirt that said “I love Ehrlich”, would they be made to take it off? Where does one draw the line when limiting freedom of speech?
I have an honest question here. If next year Frank Kratovil shows up in the parade and I have a sign that reads “Frank Kratovil Voted for Cap and Tax”. Would I be permitted to walk on the sidewalk, in pace with Mr.Kratovil’s car and display that sign, or would I be violating parade rules and asked to stop?
Communicator, They were my children and my children are educated on our countries history eventhough it is no loner taught in our schools. The signs were in no wat political or offensive. They were know different then me telling someone I like cherry snowballs. It doesn’t matter how you say they were removed, to a child taking sign in any matter by a adult is by force. I will tell you the lady that had the signs was not going to turn the signs over after taking them. She was asked to place them in the van that followed the marchers and refused. I will give credo’s to Mr. Blum he was reasonable with myself and Del. Impallaria and said the signs would be put in the van. The female still hide the signs behind her back as the crowd yelled to give them back. Mr. Blum finally got the nasty lady to had the signs over. It would have not been so over blown at the scene if the signs were turned over as I asked. To Lauren Impallaria who is 11 good job on hiding your offensive, “Delegate Impallaria says I don’t support higher taxes”, and carrying it throughout the parade route. These signs were called picketing by Mr. Blum, these are the views of Delegate Impallaria constituents, that he keeps in contact with via telephone, e-mail , and in person. Remember, that when we are forced to hide are views in the dark we are not free Mr. Blum. Should we turn that torch out in New York harbor?
Big Suggestions:
1. Ban all elected officials from parades.
2. Add more bands, floats, tractors, and stuff with sirens.
3. Require all cars to be at least 20 years old or a convertible.
Re: 52 The issue is people in the parade. If you’re not in the parade you should be fine. I’m guessing you would be asked to stop, not because of freedom of speech, but because while walking on the sidewalks you’ll be cutting through various families thereby causing a public disturbance. If you choose to walk behind people there is nothing the parade master can do because you’re not in the parade nor are you disrupting anyone.
Also here’s my two cents about the gay pride/KKK comment. The town of Bel Air has to put a permit for them to march. Who they choose to let in is their decision since its a private group doing this. The Bel Air Parade has some requirements that nobody is complaining about, such as a fee that one must pay to be in the parade. If they don’t pay that, they can’t be in the parade.
Here’s another example. If someone wanted to enter a float advertising their strip club and their car was full of scantily clad dancers (yet clothed enough to avoid indecent exposure), I nor I’m sure many people here would want that allowed in the parade. Yet if someone wanted to walk down the street doing that, it would be allowed (assuming handing out fliers in that area is allowed). So if anything that is not hate speech is allowed in the parade, advertisements for adult entertainment should logically be in the parade.
An argument can and should be made for whether the rules should be changed (which I personally feel that they should), but the constitutional argument doesn’t really apply here.
Very true. The town can not mandate what is allowed in the march in the permit. Otherwise they would have to allow the NAACP in the Klan march. That would be a recipe for a riot. They simply issue a permit they do not get to say what the group has to allow or not allow.
Anon,
Thanks for your impute.
Personally,
I was sickened to see all the politicians in the Bel Air Parade as well as car dealers. I don’t want to see the Governor, Congress folk, Statehouse folks, County Council or Town Comissioners. I would much rather see local heros – more firefighters, police, teachers, soldiers, scouts, healthcare folks, singers, marching bands, floats, etc, etc. The parade should be one place you can take your family without having to put up with politicians.
Phil –
I want to our government to be visible and accountable.
You may not like seeing government officials and politicians, but you should know that sunlight is a great cure for vampirism.
Joe