Minutemen plan to sue after parade permit denied

[question everything]

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Minutemen plan to sue after parade permit denied

Laguna event bars political groups, spokesman says.

By LAYLAN CONNELLY
The Orange County Register

LAGUNA BEACH – The founder of the Minuteman Project said his group is being discriminated against by the organizers of the Patriots Day Parade after its application to join the March event was denied.

Charles Quilter, spokesman for the parade association, said the nonprofit's bylaws state that no group with a political or religious agenda is allowed. Since they refused the Minutemen, Quilter said he has been subject to racist e-mails and phone calls from supporters of the anti-illegal immigration group.

Quilter said the decision was partly based on Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist's run for Congress. Also, the group is "a well-known political organization with political goals," Quilter said.

(snip)

Gilchrist said they were "flatly denied" within an hour of filing their application. He said he plans to file a discrimination lawsuit by Friday against the parade and its organizers. "This is a darn insult," he said. "The Minuteman Project is being deliberately demonized by the parade commission."


http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_962758.php

[Charlie Brown]

1. Since the parade association is private

They're well within their rights to show these wackos the door, and more power to them.

[salin]

7. Hope he is saving the emails to which he is referring

so if Gilchrist and co try to stir up PR spin against him - he has some of the Gilchrist supporter's own words to share with the public.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

2. Bless My Fucked Up County! nt

[question everything]

3. LOL

The fact that the freepers on the OC Blog are foaming about this is a good enough reason to praise Quilter.

[HuffleClaw]

4. what the hell is PATRIOTS DAY ?????

[Charlie Brown]

5. It's big in New England

I didn't know they had them in California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot's_Day

Patriot's Day (sometimes spelled "Patriots' Day" or without the apostrophe) is a holiday in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, Maine, and (to a lesser extent) Wisconsin. It is on April 19, in honor of the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which is generally considered to be the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. In recent years it has generally been observed on the Monday nearest that date, to provide a three-day long weekend. Since 1969, the holiday has been observed on the third Monday in April.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

6. The Article Says It's A March Event

What's up with that? The parade is in March, but Patriot's Day is April 19?

[stepnw1f]

11. "It's Big in New England"?

No it isn't... I live in New England.

[johncoby2]

8. They can apply for the Cinco de Mayo parade!

[0007]

9. Gee, I thought these candy asses already left and was home

with mommy. What don't these clowns bitch about?

Maybe they should go to Fresno, where Jim and the boys hang out and parade up there. The freepers would love it!

[UTUSN]

10. But,but, I thought they are NOT racists-how come their letters AREracist?

[UTUSN]

12. Them eyes are just MADE for slits in bedsheets

[UTUSN]

13. Oh crap, he's running for Congress - another nutcase over there

Didja know that it drives SESENBRENNER absolutely BATSHIT angry to be called "Tex"? And it has nothing to do with Texas. His father or grandfather invented the Kotex. You'd think he would appreciate the millons or billions of bucks.

[UTUSN]

14. A LttE protesting the MM

What’s the holdup on passing a resolution opposing Minutemen?

To the editor:

The letters from the Minutemen and their supporters in this space have used the covers that the Minutemen are only enforcing the law and are bolstering national security. And they complain that the issue of illegal immigration cannot be discussed without somebody making allegations of racism.

The problems are that the Minutemen themselves constantly mix the issues, and scarcely any of their appearances in public forums are unscathed by the racism so near the surface.

One letter of Nov. 23 started out lauding the lifesaving angle of the Minutemen then advised the illegals to go back to "their disgraceful country." Another one of Nov. 27 started out with the law enforcement point but quickly sank into racist justifications, claiming that local Hispanics will not enforce American laws and that her Native American ancestors were here first. And on Dec. 19, the letter writer started out with the legality and national security two-step before swirling into the outcry that it shouldn’t take 27 years for somebody to learn English.

The Minutemen have to protest too much against allegations of hate and racism because they cannot explain why their organization is such a magnet for racists. The Austin newspaper of Dec. 17 informs that a Minuteman told a city councilman to "go back to Mexico where he came from."

To separate the issues: Nobody is for illegality. Everybody is for national security. Some of us in this discussion are racists.

The Austin city council proceeded to pass a nonbinding resolution opposing the Minutemen. X County has done that, too. What’s the holdup, Y County?

[yellowcanine]

15. What part of "no group with a political or religious agenda" do they not

understand? It seems to be within the parade association's rights to decide who they want in their parade. If the Minutemen want to parade, let them get their own damn permit from the city.