An amendment that makes a good law a bad law.

by Dick Mac

Your representative just helped pass a very disturbing Amendment to the United States Code of laws.

Well, perhaps not your particular representative, because forty-five representatives either abstained or voted no. Perhaps one of those 45 is yours. But, 388 representatives voted to further restrict the public's right to assemble in public protest by broadening the definition of restricted buildings and grounds.

There have always been places where public gatherings were restricted. To a large degree, I accept that. It's not wise to endanger the President to make a point about any social or political issue. It's not wise to bring government to a standstill.

This new action by Congress greatly broadens the definition of restricted areas, and now includes a vast array of individuals whose presence makes a location restricted.

18 USC § 1752 - RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person or group of persons—

(1) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting;

(2) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance;

(3) willfully, knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, to engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any building or grounds described in paragraph (1) or (2) when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions;

(4) willfully and knowingly to obstruct or impede ingress or egress to or from any building, grounds, or area described in paragraph (1) or (2); or

(5) willfully and knowingly to engage in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any building, grounds, or area described in paragraph (1) or (2).

(b) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to commit such violations, shall be punishable by—

(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if—

(A) the person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or

(B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118 (e)(3); and

(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.

(c) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to commit such violations, shall be prosecuted by the United States attorney in the Federal district court having jurisdiction of the place where the offense occurred.

(d) None of the laws of the United States or of the several States and the District of Columbia shall be superseded by this section.

(e) As used in this section, the term "other person protected by the Secret Service" means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this title when such person has not declined such protection.

18 USC § 1752 - RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS

This pretty much covers every urban setting that includes a prep school, college or university, where a protected person might attend classes or lecture, any shopping mall at which a protected person might shop, and any suburban setting where a distant relative of a protected person might reside, should that person choose to visit.

There will be no more Occupy-ing. There will be no anti-war demonstrations. There will only be gun rallies, anti-abortion events hosted by religious organizations, and protests against laws that extend civil protection to homosexuals. Those demonstrations and gatherings will be allowed, any place at any time, and those people's Constitutional right to petition for redress will be protected by the same agencies that will arrest those with whom they disagree.

Who are these protected people?

The President, the Vice President, the President-elect, and the Vice President-elect, and their immediate families. Former Presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes, children of a former President who are under 16 years of age, visiting heads of foreign states or foreign governments, other distinguished foreign visitors, official representatives of the United States, major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and the spouses of such candidates, former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and their children who are under 16 years of age.

If people try to Occupy Times Square, Rudy Giuliani can be named a protected person and his firm is in Times Square, so everyone can be arrested and imprisoned.

I suspect these new rules will be applied and enforced selectively.

This law effectively eliminates protest against any government agency or government contractor.

You will still be allowed to protest in front of abortion clinics and against the rights of homosexuals, of course. Nobody will be arrested for that, even if the President is having coffee across the street.

No, this law will be used to undermine any opposition to the corporate takeover of the federal government.

I have a shitty Representative, so I would expect to him vote like an idiot; but, perhaps you have a representative who is thought to be more progressive and open-minded. if so, you should contact your representative and express your displeasure.