Freedom of Expression? Not if it's about Illegal Immigration
By Bobby Eberle May 18, 2010
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http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/2010/...s-about-illegal-immigration.php#ixzz0oJ8ljruG
Since the Arizona legislature passed Senate Bill 1070, the media has been abuzz about illegal immigration. How dare they pass such a measure? That's the message that keeps flowing from the mouths of the liberal elite. They have tolerance for drug dealing, kidnapping, murder, and other crimes, but no tolerance for people -- American citizens -- who want to protect themselves. Take a public position against Arizona's new law, and you are celebrated by the media for expressing your First Amendment rights of free speech and free expression. But how about if you support the law? If you're Jim Clark, support for Arizona's new law got him thrown out of a basketball game.
First, a recap. Arizona's so-called "tough" new immigration law simply states that if a law enforcement officer pulls over someone for a traffic violation or other lawbreaking, the officer can require the offender to show proof of residency if the officer suspects the person is an illegal alien. The law has widespread support from Arizona residents and the country in general. According to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, only 33% of nationwide voters oppose having a similar law in their state, while 55% favor passage of such a law.
Of course, as shown in the health care debate, what the American people want or support doesn't matter. What's popular among the left-wing media is to highlight people who take a stand against the Arizona law. Tea Party rallies are shunned by the media, but have a rally in favor of illegal immigration, and you'll get all the attention you want.
As a show of opposition to the Arizona law, the owner of the Phoenix Suns professional basketball team had his team don "Los Suns" jerseys for a playoff game. The move garnered national media attention. But Phoenix Suns fan Jim Clark had a different idea. During Game 2 of the playoffs between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, Clark wore an orange shirt which read, "Viva Los 1070." What was the result? He was kicked out of the game by Suns' security!
As noted in The Daily Caller, Clark and a friend "were ejected from their first row seats and removed from the arena last week after refusing orders from security guards to take off their shirts in support of Arizona's recently passed law against illegal immigration."
This is not the first occurrence of politics creeping into the Suns basketball games: On Cinco de Mayo, team owner Robert Sarver came up with the idea for the team to wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in protest of the immigration law. That's what drove Clark to don his own shirt.
"If they're going to shove their politics down my throat, I'm going make a message of my own," Clark told The Daily Caller.
Phoenix's ABC affiliate web site, quoted Clark as saying, "I didn't go there (game) to hear about politics, I went there to be entertained."
Soon after the game started, according to Clark, he was approached by security at US Airways Center.
"They (security) looked like secret service talking on their microphones, then they told me I either had to take off the shirt, turn it inside out or leave, so they decided to throw us out," said Clark.
Clark said he and a friend argued with members of the security staff outside the building and were eventually allowed to return to their seats.
The best comment to come from Clark was his correlation between what the security officials were doing and what the Arizona law is supposed to do: "The irony of the whole thing is, they (security) wanted to see our tickets, they wanted to see our papers, they wanted to see if everything was in order with us," said Clark.
This will likely not be the end of the story. Clark told The Daily Caller that he has printed 500 similar shirts with more on the way.
So... an Arizona mans stands up and supports a law which is designed to crack down on illegal activity and enforce immigration laws, and he is the bad guy? I guess freedom of expression comes with a great big asterisk next to it. It only applies if you speak out against America and the American way of life.
