Freedom of Speech

　

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
　

ACLU's page

Know Your Rights: Photographers

Know Your Rights: Photographer taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right – and that includes federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties. Unfortunately, there is a widespread, continuing pattern of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking photographs from public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply.

Your rights as a photographer:

When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view. That includes pictures of federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police. Such photography is a form of public oversight over the government and is important in a free society.
When you are on private property, the property owner may set rules about the taking of photographs. If you disobey the property owner's rules, they can order you off their property (and have you arrested for trespassing if you do not comply).
Police officers may not generally confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant

 If you are arrested, the contents of your phone may be scrutinized by the police, although their constitutional power to do so remains unsettled. In addition, it is possible that courts may approve the seizure of a camera in some circumstances if police have a reasonable, good-faith belief that it contains evidence of a crime by someone other than the police themselves (it is unsettled whether they still need a warrant to view them). Police may not delete your photographs or video under any circumstances.

Police officers may legitimately order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. Professional officers, however, realize that such operations are subject to public scrutiny, including by citizens photographing them.

Note that the right to photograph does not give you a right to break any other laws. For example, if you are trespassing to take photographs, you may still be charged with trespass.

If you are stopped or detained for taking photographs:

Always remain polite and never physically resist a police officer.
If stopped for photography, the right question to ask is, "am I free to go?" If the officer says no, then you are being detained, something that under the law an officer cannot do without reasonable suspicion that you have or are about to commit a crime or are in the process of doing so. Until you ask to leave, your being stopped is considered voluntary under the law and is legal.

If you are detained, politely ask what crime you are suspected of committing, and remind the officer that taking photographs is your right under the First Amendment and does not constitute reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

Special considerations when videotaping:

With regards to videotaping, there is an important legal distinction between a visual photographic record (fully protected) and the audio portion of a videotape, which some states have tried to regulate under state wiretapping laws.

Such laws are generally intended to accomplish the important privacy-protecting goal of prohibiting audio "bugging" of private conversations. However, in nearly all cases audio recording the police is legal.

In states that allow recording with the consent of just one party to the conversation, you can tape your own interactions with officers without violating wiretap statutes (since you are one of the parties).

In situations where you are an observer but not a part of the conversation, or in states where all parties to a conversation must consent to taping, the legality of taping will depend on whether the state's prohibition on taping applies only when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. But that is the case in nearly all states, and no state court has held that police officers performing their job in public have a reasonable expectation.

The ACLU believes that laws that ban the taping of public officials' public statements without their consent violate the First Amendment.

Complete ACLU article here:
http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers

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In one incident ... taking photos in a public place.. I told a cop I was told I was doing nothing wrong. Multi millionaire movie stars have no right to stop themselves or any of their family members from being photographed in Hollywood.
The cop said, but this is not Hollywood
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No this is not Hollywood but this is the United States where the First Amendment is the law of the whole nation.. NOTE it is the very First Amendment.

It would seem to become a police officer, you should at least know The First Amendment?



If the subjects are not naked or engaged in sex acts, EVERY THING YOU PHOTOGRAPH IN A PUBLIC PLACE IS YOUR RIGHT PROTECTED BY THE CONSTITUTION !

When the police are called it is they who have the duty to inform those who try to prevent photos from being taken, that it is they who are in violation of the law !　
　

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Let The court decide

PEDOPHILIA

Sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object
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I suppose if taking photos of children makes one a pedophile, Sears, Penny's, churches, schools ... all have pedophiles in their employed.
In order to manifest possible pedophilia, the photographs would have to be sexual in nature.
(Much more about this fart balloon later)
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PORNOGRAPHY

1: the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement
2: material (as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement
3: the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction <the pornography of violence>
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Sexually Explicit Photos

Pedophilia can involve photos ONLY if children are naked or are engaged in sexual activity.
Only an idiot could conceive of someone taking their naked children to the park or to allow them to have sex in public... and it be legal for people to
see them naked in person
see them have sex  person
but it would be illegal to take photos of them naked and/or having sex in public.

Candid or posed shots of people of any age in the park in the array of attire they wear is NOT sexually explicit and could not possibly be defined as pedophilia nor pornography.
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Taking photos with out their permission / secretly?

* First of all I do not need any one's permission to take photos in a public place, regardless of age, gender, weight, glasses or pimples.. that is my first amendment right.
Any who interfere with my rights are the criminals.

* I would never knowingly take photos against any one's will. The reason I go to the park is to get pets for my puppy and talk to people for a few minutes.. I NEED TO BE LIKED.

* The only way anyone would know what pictures I was taking when I pointed my camera in a specific direction is to look at my camera or to see them on the pages I upload them to.

I will be glad to confront any gossiper that states I have taken pictures secretly. Come out of your holes snakes.. expose me.
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If any of the gossipers would like to make such accusations against me in front of witnesses or in writing, I invite the back stabers to stand up.
In a court of law we can see if I am branded a sex criminal or if they pay me thousands of dollars in a law suite.


I have taking pictures of all genders from 2 weeks old to 80 years old and I take pictures of people engaged in many activities. My favorite spot is on top of Mt. P. This is what draws us back again and again and brings people from different states, even different nations.

When I take photos I tell people where they can download a copy for themselves or give them a card with the url on it.
I joined facebook to have some contact with others. They often post pictures of stuff they are into, pictures of their families and friends. What I have to share is photos I have taken at the park on my photo safari.

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If anyone has heard such gossip and is willing to testify in court, here is your chance to see if I am the cad they say or if they are liars spreading malicious gossip.

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Telephone / Gossip Game

Telephone / Gossip Game

When I was in grade school it rained one day and we couldn't go out for recess so our teacher had us play telephone.

She wrote a little message down on a piece of paper and showed it to the first kid in the row. They turned around and whispered it to the next kid until it got to the last kid.

They stood up and repeated the message out loud and it was completely perverted. This is how gossip works but it does not take place in a matter of minutes (like the class room example). It might be days.. weeks... months and then the gossiper repeats the version as they remember it.

1 The person being gossiped about can not defend themselves because the gossipers only talk behind their backs.

2 They repeat hearsay information from others who give them their version of the hearsay story.

3 If it is leaked out and they are confronted they deny they know what you are talking about.

4 If you do convince one of them it is false, that does not stop it because gossip is like cancer. Once it starts it is spread from one gossiper to another and there is no way to track where it has spread.

5 Like a lynch mob, the charged is found guilty with out being to have their defense heard.

6 Gossip is so powerful because people instantly believe the worst in people they know nothing about.

7 If the gossiper finds they were in error they don't track down those they spread the lies to. It is not as fun as nailing someone and they are embarrassed to admit they had spread maliouscous lies.

I hoped it would pass but it continues to mutate and spread.

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Is it possible that you would join a lynch mob to hang someone with out a trial?
It is not likely that you will help murder someone, but if you have ever repeated hearsay gossip, indeed you have already joined a lynch mob.

Gossip is repeating hearsay that you couldn't possibly have any knowledge of. 

Hearing hateful things about others is so easy to believe. You don't even have to actually know those who are spreading it and it is likely it is nothing more than hearsay that they have no first hand knowledge of.


Those who spread gossip or join a lynch mob, actually think they are the good guys. Hearing such outrageous accusation, in fever pitch you instantly join the mob to hang the sucker.  

The charges may be true or complete lies but in your emotional frenzy, you help tie the knot with out a trial.
If later they find they persecuted an innocent person.. Oooops ... too late.

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