Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Big Enough to Drive a Van Through

Well the fifth circuit has finally ruled that driving a car through a medical facility's front door is NOT constitutionally protected. Well, I hope one can assume that it is not acceptable to drive a vehicle through the front door of anything but a garage, but this fellow was prosecuted under the FACE, or freedom of access to [abortion] clinics act. The defendant argued that he was protected by a constitutional right of free "speech." OK, so it's late, and the real argument was far more estoric and based on an interpretation of a prior SCOTUS decision.

However

I just don't see how driving a car through anyone's front door could even rationally be argued as a form of free speech or even free expression. It isn't expression, it is at best vandalism and at worst attempted murder. It is clearly an impediment to access as it is very difficult to get into a clinic when there is a Ford taking up the walkway.

I suppose the moral of this story is even the Fifth Circuit isn't conservative enough to condone this sort of behavior.

Decision;
Chronicle coverage

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Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. O, come in, equivocator. -Shakespeare, Macbeth: 3.2.9-12