Only those smoking the ACLU grass would see someone getting patted down for weapons at a football stadium as against their constitutional rights:
TAMPA – When the Buccaneers instituted a policy requiring all fans to be patted down for weapons before entering Raymond James Stadium, the American Civil Liberties Union vowed to file suit. Thursday, they followed up on that threat.
A lawsuit, filed on behalf of a season ticket holder, seeks to immediately stop officials from conducting what the ACLU calls the “suspicionless” pat-down searches.
According to the ACLU, fan Gordon Johnston inquired about canceling his season tickets after he learned that the searches would be implemented. But the team would not refund the nearly $900 for his tickets.
Now, Johnson and the ACLU are asking the court to declare the pat-down policy in violation of the state constitution. The civics teacher said Thursday that he’s just practicing what he preaches to his students every day about civil rights and the Constitution.
“I want to be safe. But don’t I want to be safe at the mall? Don’t I want to be safe going down the street too? Does that mean we all get searched and checked all the time? Are they going to stop us? Are we going to turn into a police state, or what?” he said.
The pat-down policy was approved with some hesitation by the Tampa Sports Authority last month before the team’s first home game. At the time, the NFL told the community that RayJay was the only stadium not conducting the searches. Since then, however, the Cincinnati Bengals announced that they would not be performing the searches at their home games after state officials questioned the legality of the pat-downs.
So who the hell is forcing this guy to go watch a football game? If he does not want to get patted down, DON’T GO! This is a private business wishing to keep their customers safe and this guy along with the ACLU is crying that his rights are being violated…give me a break.
How does this differ from airport searches? Did I miss the ACLU lawsuit against the airlines?
Continuing with this theme, Jay at Stop the ACLU has a great post:
It happens somewhere in America almost everyday. Some small school, city counsel or County Courthouse gets sued. Perhaps your town has a historical monument to honor the dead from WWII that just so happens to be shaped like a cross. Or maybe your child?s school will be having a winter break instead of Christmas this year. Whatever it is, don?t fool yourself?it could happen to your town. And what will happen when it does? What will happen when the ACLU comes into your backyard? Will your town stand up for its religious liberties, or fold? The ACLU will go full force and has plenty of money to back it up. Does your town have the funds to defend itself? The ACLU has the backing of huge liberal groups, funded to the tee. How doe your town stack up?
Don?t think it couldn?t happen to you. Right now, there are those out there watching it happen to them. What can you do? If the ACLU wins, guess who pays for it? Thats right, you do.
I found the following at ReclaimAmerica.Org
U.S. Representative John Hostettler has introduced legislation which seeks to prevent the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from collecting millions of dollars in court awards when they seek to remove symbols of the Christian faith from society.
The Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005 (H.R.2679) would prevent secular organizations from collecting attorney fees after suing communities to remove memorial crosses, Ten Commandments displays, or any other vestige of the Christian faith. The legislation reads, ?The remedies with respect to a claim under this section where the deprivation consists of a violation of a prohibition in the Constitution against the establishment of religion shall be limited to injunctive relief.?
ACLU Generates Revenue in Courtroom Campaign
The ACLU was awarded $156,960 after a judge overturned an amendment to the Nebraska Constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The amendment was approved by 70 percent of Nebraska voters.
The ACLU was given $790,000 after suing to nullify a lease between the city of San Diego and the Boy Scouts of America. A federal judge sided with the ACLU, ruling that the Boy Scouts are a religious organization because they require kids to pledge an oath to God and promise to live a ?morally straight?
$150,000 = Barrow County (Ga.)
The ACLU was awarded $150,000 after suing to remove a display of the Ten Commandments from the Barrow County Courthouse.
$615,500 = Florida Supreme Court
The Florida Supreme Court established the Florida Bar Foundation and then commissioned the foundation to provide $615,500 to the ACLU of Florida between the years of 1990 and 1997.
The ACLU was awarded $121,500 after suing to remove a monument outside of the Kentucky Capitol building.
The ACLU was awarded a whopping $277,000 after suing to overturn a state law against abortion in 1994.
In 2001, the ACLU was awarded more than $299,500 after suing to overturn abortion regulations in Kentucky.
$50,000 = TennesseeA Tennessee County was forced to pay the ACLU $50,000 after losing a legal battle to preserve a display of the Ten Commandments.
$37,037 = Loudoun County (Va.)The ACLU was awarded $37,037 after winning a lawsuit to prevent a Loudoun County (Va.) from installing pornography filters on public llibrary computers.$175,000 = Alabama
Following the lawsuit, involving former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building, state taxpayers were forced to pay nearly $550,000 in attorney fees and court costs. Of that, $175,000 went to the ACLU.
$63,000 = CaliforniaTaxpayers were forced to give the ACLU a whopping $63,000 after their lawsuit to remove a World War One Memorial Cross from the Mojave National Preserve.
$74,462 = Habersham County (Ga.)
The ACLU received $74,462 from Georgia taxpayers after suing to remove a Ten Commandments display from the Habersham County (Ga.) Courthouse.
$25,000 = Pulaski County (Ark.)
The ACLU was awarded $25,000 after suing an Arkansas county for telling the child?s parents that the 14-year-old boy was living an openly gay lifestyle in school.
The ACLU is scheduled to receive $135,000 from Cobb County taxpayers, after suing the county to remove warning stickers from the district biology books. The stickers simply read, ?Evolution is a theory, not a fact.?
The city of Pasco, Washington was forced to pay the ACLU $75,000 after they lost a lawsuit to remove the painting of a naked woman from the Pasco City Hall.
Residents in Seattle, Washington, were ordered to pay $52,000 to the ACLU ? for defending a student?s ?right? to mock the assistant principal in a sexual online parodies ? sodomizing Homer Simpson and appearing in Viagra commercials.
$6,000,000 = American Taxpayers
The ACLU, along with other pro-abortion organizations, have shared in court awards estimated to be worth roughly six million dollars following the Supreme Court?s decision in which they declared the Nebraska partial birth abortion ban unconstitutional. Reportedly, these lawsuits affected thirty states.
After suing London, Ohio, for allowing their football coach to host a voluntary prayer for athletes, the ACLU was awarded $18,000 in attorney fees.
$110,000 = Multnomah County (Oregon)
Incredibly, Multnomah County taxpayers were asked to pay a whopping $110,000 after the ACLU sued them for allowing the Boy Scouts of America to recruit on public school campuses.
Operation Rescue was ordered to pay the ACLU $111,000 after losing a lawsuit in which the ACLU sought to prevent the organization from picketing near abortion clinics.
$230,000 = San Diego (California)
San Diego residents were forced to pay $230,000 in legal costs in an effort to defend the Mount Soledad Cross (a memorial to the Korean War) from an ACLU lawsuit. The Korean War Memorial had been established in 1952.
Don?t let it happen to your town, or if it is going to happen?don?t pay for it. Reclaiming America has put together a petition that already has over 100,000 signatures. We also have a petition asking for the same thing, to stop taxpayer funding of the ACLU in Establishment Clause cases. You can sign both petitions here. Help us curb the secularization of America.
See author page
I meant to link this last night, but I got a page not found when I tried to come back. Was your site down for a while?
If they refunded his money, he would have no standing to sue. I think the team should be allowed to do whatever they want for security, but if this changes the rules, the ticket buyer should be allowed a refund.