The news about Terry Jones, the Qur'an-burning Baptist preacher, just gets better and better: now there's a "gun incident" for our amusement. Except that Jones isn't a very amusing guy.This morning, Terry Jones was in court in Dearborn, Michigan trying to convince a judge and jury that the city of Dearborn should be forced to give Jones a permit to protest Sharia law outside a local Muslim mosque.
Can you imagine what the judge and jury will think when Jones tells them the "gun incident" isn't important?
Gun incident?? What gun incident? Why, the one where he shot a hole in the floor of his car after an interview at a Detroit TV station! Don't you just hate it when your gun goes off like that and puts holes in your nice carpeting? I sure do.
Some nearby police heard the gunshot and came over to Jones' car to investigate. They took his gun, but since Jones has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, he was allowed to leave. (The Florida permit is recognized by the State of Michigan.) And that was that.
Remember, this is the same guy who triggered the deaths of several dozen people including United Nations Peacekeeper soldiers. This is the man who was warned by the State Department, the President, and General Petraeus that his actions would harm our war efforts and kill people. This is the man who went ahead with his irresponsible "free speech" anyway, and who was unapologetic when told of the deaths caused by his actions.
So now imagine you're the judge or a juror and you've been asked to decide whether this man should be given a permit to protest Sharia law and Islam outside a Muslim mosque. The man is indirectly responsible for dozens of deaths, and now it turns out he's probably been carrying a concealed weapon the whole time.
I know how I'd vote if I were on that jury.
(P.S. Here is a great letter from the mayor of Dearborn to Terry Jones. He closes with this: "You have said over and over that 'Muslims are welcome as long as they follow the Constitution.' Surely, then, you wouldn’t ask less of yourself.")
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This waste of human space that calls itself "pastor" & "christian" is a dangerous, hateful, spite riddled twunt.
ReplyDeleteNone of this applies to whether or not he should be allowed to protest. This is a free speech issue, and as such, our Constitution requires us to give Jones as much latitude as possible with regard to his right to protest.
ReplyDeleteI'm as horrified as anyone by Jones' message, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the right to deliver it in our public spaces.
Now if his protests turn violent, or if he directly incites violence as a part of them, then that's a different matter.
They are right. Only in America, do you have the right to flaunt your stupidity. The rest of the world doesn't have to agree with it, or like it, but you can do it.
ReplyDeleteI despise what this man stands for, but he did not "trigger" those deaths.
ReplyDeleteGordon is exactly right.
ReplyDeleteScenario: I burn a red hat. Some whackjob in another country kills some completely unrelated person because he has an irrational obsession with and reverance of red hats. Am I guilty of murder? Apparently I am, according to how some people, including this blog's author, seem to think.
Anon – please go back and read my prior blog that I linked to in the blog above (from April 4, here it is again). You're claiming I said stuff I never said. As you'll see, my real position is that anyone who thinks this is a simple black-and-white issue hasn't thought about it enough.
ReplyDelete