Supremos Strike Down Womens’ Clinic ‘Buffer Zones’
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Massachusetts law that barred protests near abortion clinics.
The law, enacted in 2007, created 35-foot buffer zones around entrances to abortion clinics. State officials said the law was a response to a history of harassment and violence at abortion clinics in Massachusetts, including a shooting rampage at two facilities in 1994.
The law was challenged on First Amendment grounds by opponents of abortion who said they sought to have quiet conversations with women entering clinics to tell them about alternatives to abortion.
The unanimous ruling yielded two views and an unusual coalition:
Click here for reuse options!The decision united Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s four liberals. The other conservative justices would have issued a more sweeping ban on laws that restrict abortion demonstrators.
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo
David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.
* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.
6 responses to Supremos Strike Down Womens’ Clinic ‘Buffer Zones’
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arc99 June 26th, 2014 at 11:24
So this means that gun control advocates can gather at the doorstep of retail establishments selling firearms and have “quiet conversations” with people exercising their 2nd amendment rights.
Spirit of America June 26th, 2014 at 12:22
Yes it does, and it should.
arc99 June 26th, 2014 at 11:24
So this means that gun control advocates can gather at the doorstep of retail establishments selling firearms and have “quiet conversations” with people exercising their 2nd amendment rights.
Spirit of America June 26th, 2014 at 12:22
Yes it does, and it should.
Dwendt44 June 26th, 2014 at 11:46
A re[eat from the other similar item.
I wonder if the wording is broad enough to strike down the ‘buffer zone’
at political rallies and events as well. What’s good for the goose
should be good for the gander as well.
Dwendt44 June 26th, 2014 at 11:46
A repeat from the other similar item.
I wonder if the wording is broad enough to strike down the ‘buffer zone’
at political rallies and events as well. What’s good for the goose
should be good for the gander as well.