Alert! Big brother has spies ready willing and able to curtail freedom of speech. Say something that the spies do not like and they react stupidly in the name of safety. An 11 year old student in a Calvert County, Md. School was suspended from school for mentioning guns when talking to his friend while on a school bus. The bus driver reported the child to the school. The child was suspended for 10 days, but the suspension was eventually reduced to one day.

When the boys father inquired to find out what happened he said "The principal, Darrel Prioleau, told me that with what happened at Sandy Hook if you say the word 'gun' in my school you are going to get suspended for 10 days." Not only did the principal question the young man, but a deputy sheriff appeared at the home to question the boy and the father. The deputy told the father he wanted to search the home, asked questions about firearms and reaffirmed that he was going to have to search the house. The house wasn’t searched but the father filled out a four page questionnaire issued by the sheriff. Totally unlawful, but who follows the law anymore? “Ve are from the gubbamint and you vill do as ve say.”

That is the background and now for the facts pertaining to incident. One, there is no law against saying the word gun no matter what that principal believes. It is called freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.  Article 10 of the Maryland Constitution says That freedom of speech and debate, or proceedings in the Legislature, ought not to be impeached in any Court of Judicature.  The principal needs to read a few U.S. Supreme Court decisions of student rights relative to freedom of speech. The young man did not violate any law and the school was wrong to suspend him for perfectly legitimate speech.

Next, the father was within his right to not allow the deputy to search his house unless the deputy had a properly issued search warrant due to the father being suspected of having property subject to seizure. That is the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 26 of the Maryland Constitution, both of which would have been violated if the deputy searched the house. Further, the father should have told the deputy that he would not answer any questions on the questionnaire no matter what the sheriff required. The 5^th Amendment of the U.S Constitution protects those being questioned and Article 22 of the Maryland Constitution states a similar provision. Law violation or not, the father had no need to answer the questions.  That was and is his right and his alone. The correct answer to the deputy should have been, “I will not answer any of the questions.” The deputy could have blustered, bellowed and puffed for all the good it would have done him.

Our rights are being assaulted, trampled and cast aside by those who want to rule unconstitutionally. Petty people who play dictator are everywhere waiting to exercise control over the populace. Whenever they deem something to be wrong (in their eyes), they immediately assume some authority they do not have to do whatever they thinks is theirs to do. In the case of the student, they were clearly over the line beginning with bus driver. His job is to drive the bus, not monitor ordinary conversations unless he overhears speech which indicates there is a clear and present danger forming. Kids say things that would be better if they didn’t, but as long as the speech is not harming, threatening or otherwise disturbing the peace and quiet, they are free to speak even when it is guns.

Mr. Prioleau, the bus driver, the deputy and the sheriff need some good lessons on constitutional rights. Lessons would save them a lot of trouble and embarrassment. But since it occurred in Maryland, constitutional rights and embarrassment might be foreign words to them.  

© 06-05-2013 DEC

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