I received word from one of my YouTube Subscribers informing me that he had sent a detailed email to the Batesville, MS Mayor Hal Ferrell as well as the VFW Posts in the Panola County area condemning one of the city’s newest ordinances that has been hailed as unconstitutional.
All I can say after reading it, is WOW! Job well done, David. Job incredibly done! David is a proud and patriotic US Army Veteran, and I thank him for his time and dedication to ensuring our safety and our freedom. Here is what David had to say:
Hello, Mr Mayor, Board of Aldermen Members, and Treasured Members Of Sardis Memorial VFW Post 12121 and VFW Post 4968
I hope everyone is having a good day today! I really appreciate all of the long hours of hard work and dedication it takes to run a City Government, as a former Government official myself! Because I am interested in local government, I frequent the internet to learn what different local government bodies do similarly and differently. Upon my research into the City of Batesville ,I discovered something rather perplexing and quite disturbing!
Where do I begin? A City of Batesville Ordinance passed by the Board in July of 2022 making it “unlawful” and a “misdemeanor” to record in the publicly accessible areas of the local city government, is in direct opposition to the Constitutional Rights of all Citizens of the United States Of America, Mississippi, Panola County and City of Batesville! As a U.S Army Veteran, I am sickened by this, knowing first hand the level of Selfless Sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands men and women, so we can enjoy the Freedoms we have in Our Country! In North Korea, All foreign tourists are assigned two North Korean minders who decide where tourists eat and what they see and do. In this video, we see Public Servants acting as if The City Of Batesville were a town in North Korea! Moreover,The City Of Batesville now has an Ordnance similar to what one may see in the DPRK! This Ordnance is an attempt to shield the Government from the scrutiny of its citizens! It is not based in any Constitutional Law or case law.
Taking photographs and the Recording of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right and that includes inside federal buildings, transportation facilities, and recording police and other government officials carrying out their duties. If the behavior of a Citizen Journalist interferes with the operation of government or the ability of other members of the public to use a public facility, a Citizen Journalist may be removed from public property they would otherwise be entitled to be in.
Note that such a disruption would have to consist of more than the mere act of recording. In order to be lawfully removed the Journalist’s actions must make it impossible for city business to continue in an orderly fashion. Profane or abusive language doesn’t create a sufficient disruption by itself, either—only if such language qualifies as a physical threat or “fighting words” (words that inflict injury themselves or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace) or if the act (not just the content) of speaking itself disrupts city business, is there cause for members of the public to be removed.
The First Amendment Of the U.S Constitution states; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
In the United States, there is and can be no legal requirement or accreditation of any kind required to assume the titles “member of the press”, “journalist”, “reporter”, etc. Simply put, any Citizen of the United States can pick up a camera and be a journalist to distribute information about matters to the public interest.The Citizen Journalist in the video was conducting a Constitutionally protected activity from publicly accessible spaces. If the general public are permitted to be there, so can the Press.
When one is in public, the law holds that a person cannot expect to have a high degree of privacy. Thus, surveillance cameras, audio recording devices, and other forms of in-person or remote observation and recording are legal.Feelings are not to interfere with our Constitutional Protected Rights! Further, The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing. It is also a vibrant marketplace of ideas, a vehicle for ordinary citizens to express themselves and gain exposure to a wide range of information and opinions.
Sure, It’s easy to empathise with the emotions and feelings of these hard working ladies in the video! Remember, history is fraught with unscrupulous laws based on feelings…. Jim Crow Laws were just some of them not too long ago!
I urge all American Citizens, especially my fellow Veterans, to oppose this unlawful Ordnance with the same tenacity the Bravest of Us ALL had when They gave all to preserve our Rights as Americans! It may seem trivial to some but I’ll leave you with some words of warning spoken by the Founding Fathers Of Our Great Country to help aid you in your pondering on this important issue;
“The people are the ultimate guardians of their own liberties.In every government on earth is some trace of human weakness, some germ of corruption and degeneracy. Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone.”
Thomas Jefferson
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
James Madison
This is a Link to the Video inspiring this email. https://youtu.be/xn7rFwo3uYg Please remember it will be seen around the world and across our Nation!
Please Respond, but more importantly take action!
David N U.S Army Veteran
