{"id":9568,"date":"2014-07-02T04:51:17","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T08:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=9568"},"modified":"2014-07-02T04:54:42","modified_gmt":"2014-07-02T08:54:42","slug":"lowndes-county-sheriff-deputy-enforces-first-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/07\/lowndes-county-sheriff-deputy-enforces-first-amendment.html","title":{"rendered":"Lowndes County Sheriff Deputy enforces First Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/photographyisnotacrime.com\/2014\/06\/25\/georgia-deputy-surprises-us-respecting-constitution\/\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.ytimg.com\/vi\/e8jrY8rfEi4\/mqdefault.jpg\"><\/a>\r\nLowndes County, an oasis of constitutional rights.\r\nYes, really.\r\nHere&#8217;s video evidence.\r\nThis kind of good news could do more to attract businesses here\r\nthan many things the local powers that be are doing.\r\n<p>\r\nCarlos Miller wrote for Photography is Not a Crime 25 June 2014,\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/photographyisnotacrime.com\/2014\/06\/25\/georgia-deputy-surprises-us-respecting-constitution\/\">\r\nGeorgia Deputy Surprises us all by Respecting Constitution<\/a>,\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nIt started off with a federal protective service officer pulling up\r\nto Jeff Gray in a patrol car for taking pictures from a public\r\nsidewalk outside the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia Monday.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nGray told the officer that he was photographing the railroad. But\r\nthe cop had his doubts and accused him of photographing the entrance\r\nto the base &mdash; as if it would make any difference within the\r\nscopes of the law &mdash; and decided to call the local sheriff for\r\nbackup.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nWhen Gray tried to walk away, the cop informed he was being\r\ndetained.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nWhen Gray asked for his name and badge number, the cop informed Gray<!--more-->\r\nhe was free to leave.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nBut naturally, it couldn&#8217;t end there.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:80%\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e8jrY8rfEi4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nWithin minutes, a Lowndes County sheriff&#8217;s SUV pulled up and out\r\nstepped a burly deputy.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nStaff Sgt. Guthrie extended his hand, introducing himself by name,\r\nasking for his side of the story.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nGray explained he was only taking pictures of airplanes, adding\r\n&ldquo;they don&#8217;t like it very much.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nAnd then the sergeant took us all by surprise:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\n&ldquo;They need to go back and read the Constitution,&rdquo; I\r\nbelieve,&rdquo; the sergeant responded.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n&ldquo;I&#8217;m not angry at you, I&#8217;m not upset at you, and you&#8217;re not\r\ndoing anything illegal as far as I&#8217;m concerned,&rdquo; he said\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n&ldquo;They get a little excited, but as I said, you&#8217;re in a public\r\naccess area.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nI have also had an experience with a Lowndes County deputy informing\r\nother authorities who should have already known that videoing is not a crime.\r\nThat other deputy explained the\r\nGeorgia Open Meetings Act when somebody called him to try to get\r\nhim to stop me videoing an open meeting.\r\n<p>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/someplace-worse-than-here.html\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b016765cbe2eb970b-pi.jpg\"><\/a>\r\nMaybe our Sheriff&#8217;s office is familiar with the Nydia Tysdale\r\ncase, in which\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/someplace-worse-than-here.html\">\r\nshe was thrown out of a Cumming City Council meeting<\/a>\r\nfor videoing, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/06\/nydia-tisdale-returns-to-city-council-where-she-was-thrown-out-for-videoing.html\">\r\ninvited back<\/a>\r\nafter Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens stepped in to ensure\r\nthat the state open meetings act was enforced.\r\nThat Act says in:\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/open-records-open-meetings.html\">\r\nO.C.G.A. \u00a7 50-14-1-c<\/a>,\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nVisual, sound, and visual and sound recording during open meetings\r\nshall be permitted.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nMaybe the Lowndes County Sheriff&#8217;s office is familiar with the\r\ntwo U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rulings, \r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/citizens-can-video-on-duty-police-supreme-court.html\">\r\nwhich the Supreme Court has declined to review<\/a>,\r\nsaying that citizens can record police and all other elected and appointed\r\nofficials on the job:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nGathering information about government officials in a form that can\r\nreadily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment\r\ninterest in protecting and promoting &lsquo;the free discussion of\r\ngovernmental affairs.&rsquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nSo, like PINAC says, Sheriff Chris Prine&#8217;s department seems to be practicing\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lowndessheriff.com\/\">what it preaches on its website<\/a>,\r\nincluding:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\n&ldquo;Our fundamental duties are to serve humanity; to safeguard the\r\nlives and properties of our citizens; to protect the innocent\r\nagainst deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and\r\nthe peaceful against violence; and to respect the constitutional\r\nright of all persons to liberty, equality, and justice. To attain\r\nthis, the Lowndes County Sheriff&#8217;s Office enforces the law in a fair\r\nand impartial manner, recognizing both the statutory and judicial\r\nlimits of our authority and the constitutional rights of all\r\npersons.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nAnd PINAC&#8217;s video of SSGT Guthrie has been noticed,\r\neverywhere from normally alarmist\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.infowars.com\/shock-video-cop-respects-constitutional-rights\/\">Alex Jones&#8217; InfoWars.com<\/a>\r\nto\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/hyannisnews.com\/one-of-the-many-great-cops-in-our-fine-land-sergeant-guthrie-honors-the-constitution-hyannis-news-cape-cod\/\">\r\nHyannis News<\/a> way up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts\r\nto <a href=\"http:\/\/beforeitsnews.com\/alternative\/2014\/06\/video-constitutional-cop-honors-his-oath-loves-watching-photography-is-not-a-crime-on-youtube-2982346.html\">Before It&#8217;s News<\/a>, which has a picture of SSGT Guthrie with his\r\nhand ready to shake yours, and an invitation:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\nPlease watch video below, and share it with everyone you know.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:80%\">\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e8jrY8rfEi4\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none\" src=\"http:\/\/beforeitsnews.com\/contributor\/upload\/12342\/images\/Screen%20Shot%202014-06-27%20at%205_45_25%20PM.png\"><\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lowndes County, an oasis of constitutional rights. Yes, really. Here&#8217;s video evidence. This kind of good news could do more to attract businesses here than many things the local powers that be are doing. Carlos Miller wrote for Photography is Not a Crime 25 June 2014, Georgia Deputy Surprises us all by Respecting Constitution, It [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,570,571,3],"tags":[1395,3404,8701,8702,8710,12,7,8783,8784,3830,7747,7748,652,7746,8700,6],"class_list":["post-9568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-law","category-military","category-moody-afb","category-transparency","tag-chris-prine","tag-constitution","tag-georgia","tag-lake","tag-law","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-military","tag-moody-afb","tag-open-meetings-act","tag-photography-is-not-a-crime","tag-pinac","tag-sheriff","tag-staff-sergeant-guthrie","tag-transparency","tag-valdosta"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-2uk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9568"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9604,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9568\/revisions\/9604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}