Why doesn't the local Fire Chief refuse to issue a burn permit?

[Raven]

That would be the end of it. Simple.

[Dappleganger]

1. He did.

Twice.

[dflprincess]

2. I think they were denied a burning permit

but a little technicality like that won't stop the nuts.

[Raven]

3. Well then, shut them down.

[Ineeda]

4. we'll see if FDLE is there and does its job.

[jkshaw]

5. Guy said that his lawyers told him

that the first amendment trumped any refusal of a city entity to deny him a burn permit. Are his lawyers right? I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know, but I wish the fire department would park by the curb and turn their hoses on the fire as soon as he lights it -- under some pretext or other. What could he do? Sue the fire department?

This guy, by the way, started a church in Cologne, Germany, some time in the eighties and kept at it until just recently. The story was posted here, published in der Speigel.

[Raven]

8. Public safety trumps all. I am a lawyer and I can tell you that if

there is color of public safety involved in this...a tinge...it could work. If I was the Fire Chief, I would use my considerable power to shut them down and I'd worry about the consequences later. Let them sue me for depriving them of the right to hate.

[mjane]

16. If I was the fire chief

I'd treat it EXACTLY the same as I would treat any other open burn in that jurisdiction.

Where I work, they'd give a warning, or a ticket at most.

If the person refuses to put the fire out after a ticket, they would call the cops, and the cops would give them a chance to put it out or risk another ticket and/or an obstructing arrest.

But they will ( and should) do everything possible not to treat them differently than any other burning.

[Codeine]

6. Burn permit was denied, so he'll have to pay a fine.

It's not like burning without a permit nets you jail time -- people burn without permits all the time.

[Raven]

9. The Fire Chief can shut them down. Someone has to have the balls

to do it.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[awoke_in_2003]

12. +1000. nt

[smalll]

24. Someone has to have the balls to cower. Gotcha.

:eyes:

[Bragi]

29. ++++

[TheKentuckian]

7. I thought they had an injunction on them due to toxins in the ink

but they will eventually do it. They'll just get the books made with a different ink or whatever it takes.

Downside of a free society folks.

[Bombero1956]

11. It's real easy Chief

What you do is park the pumper right across the street. Have them practice hydrant evolutions and make sure the entire area is soaked. Better yet conduct a complete inspection of the property on the day of the event. The chief can do anything he wants within the law.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. love your sig line. nt

[csziggy]

14. Exactly - and the instant anybody pulls out an accelerant or a match

HOSE them!

[mjane]

17. If this was a planned flag burning

and not a Quran burning, would you be saying the same thing?

[csziggy]

19. Maybe for a flag burning - but for any book I would say definitely

I do not approve of burning books, even ones I do not approve of (such as most religious texts). I also do not like the people who try to ban books or block access to some subjects.

And when the people doing the burning are doing it more to attract attention and scam money from morons, while not caring if they instigate a wave of hate that will impact Americans all over the world, I especially want to see them shut down.

[Codeine]

20. I can burn anything I want so long as it's mine and

the burning thereof does not release dangerous fumes. Nobody's business.

[sabrina 1]

25. Then do so. But when you make it everyone's business as he has

done, then don't whine when people let you know what they think of your anti-american behavior.

HE made it everyone's business because he wants to cause violence. That makes him liable. Several forms of speech are NOT protected, and since he has already stated his intent for doing this, has been told it could result in violence, has caused Muslim Americans to have 'reasonable fear' that his actions may cause them harm, this particular case may well come under more than one of the forms of speech that are not protected.

Burn away on your own property if that's what you want to do. But don't involve the whole world with the intention of disturbing the peace. That makes it a crime. And crimes are still crimes even when they are committed on private property.

[mjane]

21. Nobody here approves of book burning

But I approve of the 1st amendment a hell of a lot more than I disapprove of burning ANY book.

People who burn flags piss me off. These guys piss me off too.

So what?

I don't want to see the constitution violated because people are offended.

That's wrong.

[caledesi]

23. constitution? where were u when * was tearing up the constitution? nt

[Bragi]

30. Why deny him his free speech rights?

That would be kind of an unAmerican thing to do, wouldn't it?

The antidote to free speech is more free speech, not finding technicalities to take away the right to free expression.

Just how afraid are we of Muslim rampages? Afraid enough to stifle criticism of them for fear of retaliation.

Then we have problem, don't we?

[Hekate]

34. It's a hate crime to some of us, not free speech. Right up there with cross-burnings...

... out of the same ignorant, hateful, bigoted, terroristic, and superstitious mindset. The KKK igniting a cross wasn't designed to denigrate Christianity (although unwittingly it did just that), but the impulse is the same.

Only thing is, this time the act doesn't just disgrace this individual and the rest of America, but overseas Americans are very much at risk. Soldiers, workers, travellers. And Christian missionaries, just in case that should matter to this nutcase pastor.

Hekate

[amandabeech]

35. + a big one.

[mjane]

15. its not the end of it

because assuming they do burn it in a way inconsistent with the law there (are they doing it in a burn pit, etc?) it means they get a ticket for doing it.

Big deal.

They will probably appeal the ticket anyway... and get more press

[Hekate]

18. They don't need no stinkin' burn permit for an auto-da-fe.

[Hawkeye-X]

22. What's an auto-da-fe?

History of the World Part I FTW!

[HEyHEY]

27. It's what you oughta not do, but you do anyway!

[Hekate]

28. Medieval Portuguese and Spanish for "act of faith," essentially a public ceremony where sentences...

... of those prosecuted by the Spanish Inquisition were enacted. Held in the public plaza, lots of people attended, including royalty; featured a procession, oaths, a Mass. Since it culminated in the burning of a heretic, the term came to represent that.

The common denominator of my comment is this: someone gets burned at the stake for having the wrong religious thoughts or practices.

Hekate

[Hawkeye-X]

33. LOL. It's part of a song from the movie

HeyHEY got it right :)

[Obamanaut]

26. He did. nt

[diveguy]

31. Here's the problem with that.

He denies a permit. They burn anyway. This goes to the supreme court. If the court upholds the case, then nobody will be able to burn a book. If someone burns a bible, they should go to jail too.

You cant single out one group exercising their rights because you don't like the message.

[LostinVA]

32. He did, weeks ago