The Morning Roar: A Major Win For Filming Police, Idaho Vote To Reject Federal Gun Laws, and a Pulitzer for Snowden?
Man Sues Baltimore PD For Deleting Videos of Arrest; Wins BigLet's preface this by saying that you are allowed to record police already, but for some reason many officers believe they have the right to confiscate cameras and delete videos that they feel may be unflattering to them. This was the case in Baltimore, when police made an arrest four years ago and a man named Christopher Sharp recorded the act.
“Do me a favor and turn that off. It’s illegal to record anybody’s voice or anything else,” an officer told SharpSharp says the officers took his phone and deleted videos, including family videos.
Sharp went to the ACLU, who took it hard to the Baltimore PD over this violation of First Amendment rights. Not only will there be a formal apology to Sharp, but also $25,000 for his trouble and over $200K to cover his legal bills. This sets a great precedent for suing police departments the country over for this same brutish gestapo tactic and abuse of authority. Plus, it's directly impacting policy and training:
As part of the new policy, all officers going through training will be taught that they can never tell you to stop recording as long as you’re somewhere where you have a right to be and no officer can confiscate your phone just because you have video that they don’t want you to see.
Idaho Legislature Holds Emergency Vote To Reject Federal Gun LawsMichael Lotfi who writes for BenSwann.com issued a breaking news update late yesterday that the Idaho Legislature passed a bill that would:
nullify future federal gun laws by prohibiting state enforcement of any future federal act relating to personal firearms, a firearm accessories or ammunition.
Actual bill text excerpt:
“protect Idaho law enforcement officers from being directed, through federal executive orders, agency orders, statutes, laws, rules, or regulations enacted or promulgated on or after the effective date of this act, to violate their oath of office and Idaho citizens’ rights under Section 11, Article I, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho.
The bill is due on the Governor's desk as of tomorrow, and considering the vote passed unopposed through both levels of Idaho's legislature, I can't see why it wouldn't be signed into law. Hopefully this is a guiding light that other states will follow quickly and with the same amount of non-partisan enthusiasm. Full article with more excepts from the law can be found at Swann's site. Can Edward Snowden Win A Pulitzer?Well he should. Despite his not authoring the actual articles that have stemmed from his explosive disclosure of the PRISM program and the myriad offshoots that still make headlines daily, he was an integral character that has essentially defined the legacy of a still-acting president and made millions worldwide aware to the treachery of government.Politico posed the question:
The issue before the Pulitzer Prize Board: Does it honor reporting by The Washington Post and The Guardian based on stolen government documents that are arguably detrimental to the national security of the United States, and which were provided by a man who many see as a traitor? Or, does it pass over what is widely viewed as the single most significant story of the year — if not the decade — for the sake of playing it safe?
