50cal

Judge protects T-shirt with dead troop names




By Paul Davenport - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 21, 2008 13:24:10 EDT

PHOENIX — A federal judge permanently barred Arizona on Wednesday from using a state law to prosecute an online merchant who sells shirts that list names of thousands of troops killed in Iraq.
U.S. District Judge Neil Wake did not strike down the 2007 law against selling products that use military casualties’ names without families’ permission. But he ruled that using the law to prosecute Dan Frazier would violate the Flagstaff man’s First Amendment rights because his “Bush Lied — They Died” shirts are “core political speech.”
“It is impossible to separate the political from the commercial aspects of that display,” Wake wrote. “For example, the state argues that Frazier can sell his shirts without displaying the soldiers’ names. But Frazier’s product is his message, and his customers’ message.”
Arizona’s law was enacted with little debate by the Legislature, and Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas have enacted similar laws.
A spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said Goddard’s office was reviewing the ruling and did not immediately know whether it would appeal.
“I always knew the Constitution was on my side,” Frazier said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Lee Phillips, a Flagstaff lawyer who represented Phillips on behalf of the ACLU, said it still could be possible to use the law to prosecute a person in a case without political circumstance or motivations.
Citing First Amendment concerns, Wake had issued a preliminary injunction last September against enforcing the law against Frazier while the lawsuit was pending.
The ACLU is also defending Frazier in a pending lawsuit filed against him in federal court in Tennessee by a couple whose soldier son was killed in Iraq. Robin and Michael Read of Greeneville, Tenn., have asked that their case be expanded to cover more than 4,000 casualties and seek more than $40 billion in damages.

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"Sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal. Suck it up. Be a Marine"

Kaina1128

ugh, that makes me sick!

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www.paysbig.com/powwow

Urban Indian Wellness Consortium

Nooktoo tsitaapi kainaiwa


USAF

50cal

how do you think I feel????.........He lives down the street from me......

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"Sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal. Suck it up. Be a Marine"

billyjoejimbob

Is the profit all his or is he donating?

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There are 2 types of people in the world...
Really stupid people who think they are smart
and
Really smart people who think they are smart.

Kaina1128

doesn't matter. he's using people's names and death information without permission from their families. if they don't want their sons and daughters to be "remembered" in that way, he should have the decency to honor them.

__________________
www.paysbig.com/powwow

Urban Indian Wellness Consortium

Nooktoo tsitaapi kainaiwa


USAF

chazziff

holay molay what a weiner .... i know id be flipping right tha fak out on this dude if i was walkin around in the mall and saw someone walkin by with a tshirt of my deceased loved ones' name on it.

if he had contacted the families before he put their names on the tshirt ... maybe. because the family opted into the whole thing. to actively participate in his statement with him .... but to be jus pickin and choosin names at random .... that shouldnt fly .... and shouldnt even be allowed. freedom of speech .. my azz .. more like anything for a fast dime.

what is he doin wit the money? should be used for college for the children of the deceased soldiers he is using to profit from ...

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Kaina1128

From the jerk's site:

"Have you made a lot of money on the shirts?
No. Much of the first batch of shirts was sold at a deep discount. The shirts were complex to design and expensive to produce. The cost of the shirts has been kept low to encourage sales and spread the important message. Keep in mind that the price includes shipping and a donation to charity. Also, due to the legislation targeting this product, there will likely be legal expenses associated with selling this product. Nobody is getting rich here. I am more deeply in debt now than when I started my business in 2002.

Does any money go to the families?

Yes, one dollar from the sale of each shirt is being donated to charitable organizations that assist families of fallen U.S. troops. As of August 2008, we had donated $4,249 to such charities.

We do not make the names of the charities public because we recognize that the controversy surrounding these t-shirts could hurt these organizations. These organizations depend on the goodwill of the public and therefore prefer to avoid controversy. However, in legal proceedings we have expressed a willingness to disclose the names of the organizations to a judge. "

they can protect the names of their charities, but not the names of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country...

__________________
www.paysbig.com/powwow

Urban Indian Wellness Consortium

Nooktoo tsitaapi kainaiwa


USAF

tigger

idiot needs his a$$ kicked.........those names are sacred (atleast to fellow members and families), and if he's not makin a profit, then where is the rest of the money going for the shirts if he's only donating $1 from every shirt.