During a public meeting of the Winter Garden City Commission in Florida, a local resident was forceably removed after refusing to stand during an invocation and pledge of allegiance.
Mayor John Rees is the man who facilitated this Constitutional violation, and certainly should be removed from office. But what about the other council members? Not a single one spoke up on behalf of resident, Joseph Richardson.
And what about those in attendance. Not a single peep, except from one man who said, “Just stand up, man.”
There are few occasions when I wish to be in Florida. But that was certainly one of them.
To be honest, I’m not particularly surprised to hear of a politician violating the rights of a U.S. citizen. It happens all the time. But of all those folks in the room – the other council members, the attendees, the police officer – no one had the common decency to defend this man. And that’s a tragedy.
For the record, the government may not force any citizen to stand for the pledge of allegiance, nor can government officials ask citizens to stand for prayers or say prayers themselves. As well, I’d like to share with you a 1943 Supreme Court decision (West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette) that explained. . .
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.”
Of course, we shouldn’t even need much in the way of guidelines on this.
Seems to me that any use of force against a citizen who has done nothing illegal and has not displayed any kind of violent behavior is a clear violation of individual liberty. But take a look at the video below and decide for yourself.
