The Cross Is A Dangerous
Weapon
Swords at a North Carolina
festival are okay, it’s the Cross that is dangerous and against the law…
By de Andréa
September 16, 2013
Regardless of
whether or not you are for displaying symbols when it comes to representing
the Christian Faith, one should understand the intended representation here.
Apparently there are some North
Carolina police officers that believe a Christian who openly carries a cross
out in public, is according to law, wielding a "dangerous weapon!"
Well…spiritually and historically speaking, they may be correct… Check out the video here.
A Christian
evangelist witnessing at a public festival in North Carolina this past weekend
was forced to put away a wooden cross that he was holding, as police asserted
that it could be considered a "dangerous
weapon." Well a ball bat
could be considered a dangerous weapon at a public park but like the cross, I
don’t think that it is the intended use.
Moreover I would like to see the list of dangerous weapons to see if
crosses are on the list.
Brothers
Jesse and Matthew Boyd, along with friend Kent Blalock, attended the 32nd
annual Historic Morganton Festival on Saturday to open-air preach, distribute
Gospel literature and hold Scripture-based signs as a witness to attendees.
Matthew carried a small 3-pound wooden cross that bears the question "Are
You Ready?" and folds away when not in use.
The men
state that even before they attended the event, they became aware that there
could be problems in light of the festival rules, which barred free speech
activity on the streets. In turn,
Jesse contacted City Attorney Louis Vinay expressing his concern, the City
Attorney sent him a compilation of relevant case law that protected free speech
activity at public events.
Most
notably, the festival rules illegally required the evangelists–and anyone else
who wished to engage in free speech–to stand in a "free speech zone,"
Official "Free
Speech Zone" set up by event organizers 20 yards outside the
festivities.
According to the Boyds and Mr. Blalock, the festival organizer said it
was against the law for Christians to hold signs and distribute tracts within
the festival. There was a "free speech zone"
established for the festival for such activities. Seriously…, since when does
there have to be a "free speech zone" established on public property?
Is this anything like a GUN FREE ZONE where no guns are allowed? Remember this is taking place on a public
street, paid for with the Boyds and Blalock’s own tax dollars. They have every
right to be there and to do what they were doing.
"It was just very politely stated
to her that we were not going to stop, and that their rules or so-called laws
did not supersede our rights as American citizens under the U.S. Constitution,"
Matthew explained. "We're on a public street;
you can't just make [your own] rules."
Well the organizer just wasn’t going to
have any of this blatant exercise of freedom at her’ festival so she brought
back a man that identified himself as the chief of police.
"The chief then focused in on the
cross, saying that it was a violation of the [city's] sign ordinance, and we
just kind of went back and forth, … [explaining that] the language of the
ordinance did not apply here," Matthew recalled, as
Jesse noted that the law pertained to poles and other objects used to hoist
signs that could be sharp or injurious.
Matthew then said "He kept referring to [the
cross] as a dangerous weapon or a possible dangerous weapon."
He then agreed with the officer that
not only was the cross, spiritually speaking, a deadly historical weapon in
terms of dealing with sin and the devil, but he then appealed to reason. "I
said to the chief, 'Sir, you know we're out here peacefully. Our entire
approach is peaceful, and just because something could be used as a deadly
weapon doesn't mean it is,'" Jesse explained. "I said, 'That the walkie-talkie
attached to your shirt could be a deadly weapon if you swung it and hit
somebody in the head with it.'"
Festival-goers hold wooden swords sold by an event
vendor.
It is obvious that this is just another case of harassment of Christians, targeting
the brothers with the cross. Other
attendees who were carrying 4 foot wooden samurai swords and other objects that
could be used as weapons were not harassed. "We train with these at my
Aikido club, and they are deadly weapons," Jesse noted. "There
were people with light sabers and plastic swords and all kinds of things that
could have been a dangerous weapon, and yet the police chose to zero in on our
'Are You Ready' cross."
Oh that’s not all, the organizer then told
them they would have to stop passing out tracts as well and holding their signs
or leave the event all together. So you
see, this wasn’t about crosses or dangerous weapons, it was about those nasty Christians.
As police conferenced with each other
for a half hour or so, they returned and told the evangelists that the cross
had to go and warned them it was their last chance.
Their decision was to put the cross
away, but then continued their other endeavors.
THE BOTTOM LINE: It is obvious that the police were picking
and choosing in threatening the men with arrest over a cross while others were
walking around with wooden samurai swords. The cross was no more a dangerous
weapon than the man holding it was. Anyone seeing the pictures above should be
able to agree with that.
Mr. Vinay said that the town of Morgan
has lots of churches and is a very "Christian" city, which I have no
doubt is the case. He also said the cross was somehow "collapsible,"
meaning that it could be folded up and made much smaller to carry.
No one was threatened and no one was
hurt by the cross or the samurai swords. It appears that the event organizer,
Sharon Jablonski just had a problem with Christians being on the scene, because
she wanted them to just go away; free speech, cross and all. Sharon Jablonski obviously believes that only
her speech is free and protected under the first Amendment. This is the Ideology of Muslims Nazis and
Communists, not Americans.
UPDATE:
Police Chief Mark Tolbert cited the
particular ordinance that he believes the men were in violation of. According
to Tolbert, Section 6-2046, Item C-3 of Morganton's ordinances reads:
"To Carry or possess any banner,
poster, sign or other similar device which is made from or has a component made
from a club, police baton, night stick, sharp object, dangerous weapon or other
material that could be used as a dangerous weapon. Any length of metal, lumber,
wood or similar materials for the purpose of displaying a sign, poster, plaque
or notice shall be construed to be a dangerous weapon, unless such weapon is
made of material that is no larger than 3/8” x 2 inches or made of PVC pipe or
similar light plastic material."
It sounds to me that this law paints
with a broad brush as to what a "dangerous weapon" is, according to
this ordinance. if you wear a cross that is made of any of the above material
and is longer than 2 inches and thicker than 3/8 inches with a message on it,
you are in violation of the ordinance. Some may say that is silly, but let me
point out how it is the law. In addition, it would be much easier to conceal a
2 inch weapon than a five foot cross. Personally, it sounds like the ordinance
should be completely rewritten so that it at least doesn’t violate the U.S.
Constitution and create a Police State. If you wish to contact the event
organizer, here is the website and contact information:
If you wish to contact the event
organizer, here is the contact information:
Historic Morganton Festival, Inc.
P.O. Box 1472
Morganton, North Carolina 28680
P.O. Box 1472
Morganton, North Carolina 28680
Phone: (828) 438-5252
Fax: (828) 432-2518
Email: info@morgantonfest.org
Fax: (828) 432-2518
Email: info@morgantonfest.org
If you agree, please share
these posts with your friends, family, co-workers. The only way to defeat
the tyranny and propaganda of the government controlled media is to spread the
truth.
Thanks for listening – de Andréa
Copyright © 2013 by Bottom Line
Publishing - Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted,
provided full credit is given.
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