Las Vegas Sun

July 24, 2008

User profile: wdevine

Joined: May 5, 2008

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Total Comments: 2 (view all)

Whoops... 'Although I was not accosted...'

(Suggest removal) 5/5/08 at 1:01 p.m.

Although I was not been accosted at the DMV a couple weekends ago, I did witness a group of three or four people asking people if they were interested in registering to vote. When I said I was already registered they turned and approached the next person. I suppose had I not been registered and gone to do so that they might have inquired as to which political candidate I supported and attempted to lead me to the path of their candidate.
Just as I support the political parties' right to ask people if they want to register to vote, I also support the right of those to gather signatures for petitions regardless of whether I support the underlying petition.
Similarly, if petition supporters are permitted to gather signatures on DMV property then I think it just for opponents to also be on DMV property to verbally oppose the petition gathering.
The difference though, is that the opposition is using tactics that are not intended to permit a person to make an educated decision but are geared towards making the person uncomfortable and want to leave to avoid the continuous verbal 'attack' of yelling before before signing the petition.
Although I am a supporter of first amendment rights, I believe that a person's first amendment rights to generally say whatever they want to say end, or at least become able to be regulated or restricted, when the person begins yelling and screaming at me as a personal attack. Witness the personal attack by the Republican registering voters against Johnathan (12:17pm) above. If the people registering others to vote are going to attack bystanders walking by them who have no interest in participating in what they're selling or doing, then they should either be banned from the DMV property, or there should be a process whereby the bystander can report that person's behavior and have them removed.
Same goes for those disrupting the petition gathering. I will definitely NOT vote for an increase in taxes just on gaming when an across the board tax could bring in the same revenue and not unfairly target the financial engine driving the Vegas economy. The person or persons advocating the same position should not be permitted to come up to me and start yelling at me to tell me I should not sign because of X and Y. They clearly should be permitted to be there and explain their position and handout fliers or information that explains their position, just as the petition signature gatherers are doing. Surely, if the disruptions keep the petition from going through ultimately the result is a good thing - the gaming companies aren't taxed unfairly, but the tactics are inexcusable.
There are many illegal things a group could do to keep someone from running for office or getting a bill passed, but that does not mean they should do it. But just because it can be done, does not mean it should be done this way.

(Suggest removal) 5/5/08 at 1 p.m.

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