iting Free Speech Rights, LA Court Rejects
Government's Extremist Tactics in Culture War Against Raves
NEW ORLEANS--In a ruling the American Civil Liberties Union called a
"major victory" for free speech rights, a federal judge today
permanently blocked federal agents from banning masks, pacifiers, and
glow sticks at a local dance venue as part of its nationwide war against
rave concerts.
"Today's decision should send a message to government that the way to
combat illegal substance abuse is not through intimidation and
nonsensical laws," said Graham Boyd, Director of the ACLU's Drug Policy
Litigation Project, which filed a challenge to the ban on behalf of rave
enthusiasts and performers.
Raves are electronic music concerts that the government seeks to close
because some attendees use the drug Ecstasy. But that approach, Boyd
said, is tantamount to shutting down rock concerts in the 1960s or jazz
clubs in the 1920s because some people are using drugs.
The court today agreed. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge G. Thomas
Porteous said that while there is a "legitimate government interest" in
curtailing illegal drug use, "the government cannot ban inherently legal
objects that are used in expressive communication because a few people
use the same legal item to enhance the effects of an illegal substance."
Judge Porteous also noted that "there is no conclusive evidence that
eliminating the banned items has reduced the amount of ecstasy use at
raves." And in a particularly stern warning against the Attorney
General’s drug war tactics, he concluded, "when the First Amendment
right of Free Speech is violated by the Government in the name of the
War on Drugs, and when that First Amendment violation is arguably not
even helping in the War on Drugs, it is the duty of the Courts to enjoin
the government from violating the rights of innocent people."
Joe Cook, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, welcomed the
court’s unambiguous defense of free speech rights. "We the people should
rejoice in this blow for our rights and not allow any of our freedoms to
become a casualty in the war on drugs," he said.
The ACLU filed its challenge to the policy in August 2001, after the
Drug Enforcement Agency forced the owners of a prominent New Orleans
dance venue to ban face masks, glow sticks and pacifiers from their
facility, saying that the items constituted "drug paraphernalia." As a
result of the ban, rave attendees were forced to throw away or have
confiscated personal effects in order to gain entry into dance events
given at the venue.
Boyd said that the government has been holding workshops around the
country citing the New Orleans case as an example of how to shut down a
rave. The government has also encouraged local prosecutors to charge
rave promoters as drug dealers under state and federal "crack house"
laws and to engage in excessive enforcement of parking permits and other
local laws in order to disrupt the events.
"Today’s ruling tells law enforcement agents that if you want to target
drug use at raves, you’ve got to play by the rules," Boyd said. "Go
after the drug dealers, not the entertainers and dancers and people who
are there to enjoy the show."
The ACLU brought its case against the government on behalf of local rave
enthusiasts, including a former member of the armed forces and an
insurance agent whose masks and glow sticks were confiscated at a rave
last summer, and an internationally renowned performance group that
faced cancellation of an act incorporating glow sticks.
An ACLU online feature on this case, including links to court papers, is
available at:
http://www.aclu.org/issues/drugpolicy/cases/McClure_v_Ashcroft/McClure_v_Ashcr
oft.html
--- Begin Message ---
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 20:15:59 +0000
From: EMDEF News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Victory in New Orleans!
Citing Free Speech Rights, LA Court Rejects
Government's Extremist Tactics in Culture War Against Raves
NEW ORLEANS--In a ruling the American Civil Liberties Union called a
"major victory" for free speech rights, a federal judge today
permanently blocked federal agents from banning masks, pacifiers, and
glow sticks at a local dance venue as part of its nationwide war against
rave concerts.
"Today's decision should send a message to government that the way to
combat illegal substance abuse is not through intimidation and
nonsensical laws," said Graham Boyd, Director of the ACLU's Drug Policy
Litigation Project, which filed a challenge to the ban on behalf of rave
enthusiasts and performers.
Raves are electronic music concerts that the government seeks to close
because some attendees use the drug Ecstasy. But that approach, Boyd
said, is tantamount to shutting down rock concerts in the 1960s or jazz
clubs in the 1920s because some people are using drugs.
The court today agreed. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge G. Thomas
Porteous said that while there is a "legitimate government interest" in
curtailing illegal drug use, "the government cannot ban inherently legal
objects that are used in expressive communication because a few people
use the same legal item to enhance the effects of an illegal substance."
Judge Porteous also noted that "there is no conclusive evidence that
eliminating the banned items has reduced the amount of ecstasy use at
raves." And in a particularly stern warning against the Attorney
General�s drug war tactics, he concluded, "when the First Amendment
right of Free Speech is violated by the Government in the name of the
War on Drugs, and when that First Amendment violation is arguably not
even helping in the War on Drugs, it is the duty of the Courts to enjoin
the government from violating the rights of innocent people."
Joe Cook, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, welcomed the
court�s unambiguous defense of free speech rights. "We the people should
rejoice in this blow for our rights and not allow any of our freedoms to
become a casualty in the war on drugs," he said.
The ACLU filed its challenge to the policy in August 2001, after the
Drug Enforcement Agency forced the owners of a prominent New Orleans
dance venue to ban face masks, glow sticks and pacifiers from their
facility, saying that the items constituted "drug paraphernalia." As a
result of the ban, rave attendees were forced to throw away or have
confiscated personal effects in order to gain entry into dance events
given at the venue.
Boyd said that the government has been holding workshops around the
country citing the New Orleans case as an example of how to shut down a
rave. The government has also encouraged local prosecutors to charge
rave promoters as drug dealers under state and federal "crack house"
laws and to engage in excessive enforcement of parking permits and other
local laws in order to disrupt the events.
"Today�s ruling tells law enforcement agents that if you want to target
drug use at raves, you�ve got to play by the rules," Boyd said. "Go
after the drug dealers, not the entertainers and dancers and people who
are there to enjoy the show."
The ACLU brought its case against the government on behalf of local rave
enthusiasts, including a former member of the armed forces and an
insurance agent whose masks and glow sticks were confiscated at a rave
last summer, and an internationally renowned performance group that
faced cancellation of an act incorporating glow sticks.
An ACLU online feature on this case, including links to court papers, is
available at:
http://www.aclu.org/issues/drugpolicy/cases/McClure_v_Ashcroft/McClure_v_Ashcroft.html
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