NY Court Denies Anti-Bush Protesters

And they're actually saying this with a straight face --- amazing.


NY Court Says Anti-Bush Protesters Can't Use Park
By Grant McCool

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday denied anti-Bush protesters permission to rally in Central Park on the eve of the Republican National Convention, leaving open the question of where possibly hundreds of thousands of demonstrators will go after a march through midtown Manhattan.

The decision by New York Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Silbermann is the latest in a running legal battle between the protest group and the city. She sided with city officials, who say they fear the grass on the park's Great Lawn would be damaged and security could not be ensured for the huge crowd.

The lawn was restored seven years ago at a cost of $18 million.

"We fully recognize the vital importance of First Amendment rights," said Jonathan Pines, lead attorney for the city, in a statement following the ruling.

So what they're saying is "The First Amendment is cute, but when the re-sodding of the lawn area is at stake, those Constitutional Rights just have to give way to Gardening Issues."

Amazing, and Bloomberg isn't even a real Republican.

As to where the protesters CAN go, there's always Newark.

This is not a slam at Republicans, or at least not ONLY Republicans. When the Democrats held their convention in San Francisco in 1984 (Mondale-Ferraro), Mayor Dianne Feinstein had the homeless methodically rounded up in the weeks before and bussed over the bay and through the hills to someone's Grandma's House, there to remain until after the cameras were gone.

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