Curious what our expert legal list members might say.....this case is the first attempt at enforcing a new "residential peace" law that prohibits raising your voice on a public sidewalk outside the home of an abortion doctor....the doctor had never met the protester until today in court, so the "stalking" definition is dubious....but the "wanted" posters should be protected as freedom of the press. Or are they? The actual text on the posters said "Wanted by Jesus to stop killing babies." No threats of physical violence were ever reported. In Jesus, Chaplain Klingenschmitt ---------------------------------------------------
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25678662/detail.html CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A local pastor was found guilty Monday of stalking a doctor who performs abortions. He was sentenced to 24 months probation and plans to appeal. Reverend "Flip" Benham posted wild west-style "Wanted" posters which gave the doctor's name and home address. Benham said this was a free speech issue, that he has a constitutional right to speak his mind. He said, "[The doctor] kills babies. He does it for a living. He has no respect for life of children in the safety and neighborhoods of their mothers' wombs." But others saw the posters as threats to women's rights and the doctor himself. Cindy Thompson, with the Charlotte chapter of the National Organization for Women said, "It's none of his business. He needs to leave women alone and let us make up our minds." Some worried anti-abortion activists might kill the doctor, something that has happened elsewhere and was mentioned multiple times in court Monday. Prosecutors said it was like putting a target on the doctor's back. The doctor said he felt the poster was a "call for my murder." He said he was always looking over his shoulder, that he'd get down on his hands and knees to make sure there were no bombs under his car, that he was worried someone would be on the roof waiting to shoot him, and that he even watched TV in rooms with fewer windows. Benham replied, "Nobody has gone and killed because [he or she] saw a poster. That is most absurd and logical fallacy that there possibly could be."
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