Civil liberties headlines for October 24, 2008

From free speech to gun rights, below are news headlines involving outrages, developments and occasional victories that may be of interest to people who care about personal liberty, all gathered in one place.

Belleville sets new rules for Halloween
If you're thinking about trick-or-treating in Belleville and you are in the ninth grade or higher, think again. Today, Belleville Mayor Mark W. Eckert signed a new law -- approved by the Belleville City Council Monday night -- that sets new rules for those wanting to dress up for Halloween and on other days of the year.

Poll indicates half of Massachusetts voters want marijuana decriminalized
A ballot proposal to decriminalize the possession of marijuana has the support of about half of Massachusetts voters as the November election gets closer.

Margin shrinks for defeat of California gay marriage ban
A majority of California voters oppose Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in the state, but a new statewide poll shows that the gap has narrowed in the past month.

Poll: Florida gay-marriage ban just short of passing
A majority of Florida voters back a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, though the level of support is just shy of the 60 percent required for approval, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released Thursday.

Schweitzer says Barr is best gun candidate
While defending Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's record, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Tuesday that Montana voters whose main issue is guns might consider voting for Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr instead of either Obama or Republican John McCain.

Bungling gun police raid toddler's home
A terrified father cuddling his toddler son was confronted by gun-toting police when they stormed his house by mistake. Simon Clemett was faced with officers in flak jackets barking at him, 'Put the baby down!', before starting to tear his home apart.

Ruling on change of venue for Frederick could come Monday
A judge could rule Monday on a change of venue for Ryan Frederick, a 29-year-old Chesapeake man facing trial in the self-defense killing of a city detective. Prosecutors are upset that Frederick has so much support in the Chesapeake area.

What’s fair about the Fairness Doctrine?
"The liberal left wing of politics has complained in recent years about the influence of talk radio on public opinion and the need for balance and the re-introduction of the Fairness Doctrine. They do this while overlooking or ignoring the leanings in their own direction of most of the television networks and newspapers."

Free Speech on the Ropes in Wartime
During World War I, expressing anything less than enthusiasm for the war effort could bring sedition charges and jail time.

Berkeley rewrites trespassing law to prevent UC police from using it to arrest protesters
The Berkeley City Council has rewritten its trespassing law to stop UC-Berkeley police from using it to arrest demonstrators on campus. The move Tuesday night came after two demonstrators who were arrested in separate incidents sued the city, saying its trespassing law was being improperly applied by campus police.

'Appalled' opposition hits back at Conroy’s Internet censorship
Australia's ruling Labor party’s plan for content filtering will require Internet Service Providers to offer a "clean" feed to all homes, schools and public Internet access points. Under the scheme there will be two blacklists: one which blocks illegal material like child pornography; and another blacklist which blocks a list of material deemed "unsuitable" for children.

D-notice slapped on MoD's history of censorship
There is a long tradition of the British military suppressing news that it considers detrimental to national security by slapping a D-notice on it. But when the D-notice committee decided that the time was ripe to publish its own official history, nobody imagined that it would fall victim to its own system.

NM woman faces eviction over medical marijuana use
A woman was told to move out of her apartment when the landlord discovered she has marijuana for medical use. Bobbie Wooten, 47, uses a wheelchair because she was paralyzed from the waist down in a car crash several years ago and suffers severe spasms. She joined the state's medical marijuana program when it went into effect last year.

Haines City Police Chief Indicted for Prostitution
Haines City, Florida, Police Chief Morris West had been indicted on three counts of soliciting prostitution by the Polk County Grand Jury.

Legit businesses struggle to compete with under-the-table outfits
Massachusetts businesses find there is an enormous competitive advantage to evading the state's crippling taxes and regulations.

Court Upholds Seizure at Shipping Facility as ‘Border” Search
The seizure of child pornography and other evidence of an elderly man’s involvement in sex tourism from a FedEx shipping facility was valid as the equivalent of a border search, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com