Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe Issues Executive Order That Violates First AmendmentVirginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed
an executive order late Friday halting demonstrations at Lee Monument in Richmond for the next 90 days. That order violates the First Amendment.
Citing “the power vested in me as the Chief Executive by Article V of the Constitution of Virginia and the laws of the Commonwealth,” McAuliffe ordered the following:
No demonstrations shall be authorized at the Lee Monument in the absence of a permit issued by the Department of General Services. The term “demonstrations”
includes demonstrations, processions, picketing, speechmaking, marching, vigils, and all other like forms of conduct, that involve the communication or expression of views or grievances, engaged in by one or more persons, the conduct of which is reasonably likely to draw a crowd or onlookers. This term includes the display of flags, banners, or other demonstratives designed to communicate a message.
“A 90-day ban on expression here violates the First Amendment. This sort of restriction is subject to ‘strict scrutiny,’ under which the restriction is presumed unconstitutional, and the government must prove that is it narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling public interest. This EO should fail that test,” the expert said.
The constitutional law expert anticipates that any legal challenge to the executive order will likely end up at the Supreme Court.
“However, this is Virginia, which on appeal is in the Fourth Circuit.
That court is now the most liberal appeals court in the nation, to the left of the often-maligned Ninth Circuit–ten liberals, two moderates, and only three conservatives. And there are no vacancies on the 15-member court, so
it would probably take multiple consecutive terms of Republican presidents to take it back. The challengers would face an uphill battle in front of the Fourth Circuit,” the expert added.
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The order violates the First Amendment,” another constitutional law expert told Breitbart News.
“The state will say it is content neutral, and some statist judge could uphold it on those grounds, but
that’s a corrupted interpretation of the First Amendment, which we all know is common,” the expert added.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/19/mcauliffe-issues-executive-order-violates-first-amendment/
