On 3/15/2011, Victor Petersen was asked this question: “What is your primary role as a Council Member?” Without hesitation, he answered “Protect individual rights.” (“LD22 Gilbert Council Candidate Forum, Minus the No-Shows”)
Read moreBill of Rights
Is the Glendale Mayor off her Nut?
I received the following email from Le Templar, Director of Communications of the Goldwater Institute. Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs’ reaction to the word "protest" reminds me of a silly woman who jumps on top of a table upon seeing a mouse. Anyone who knows anything at all about the TEA Party movement knows that it is a conservative group of peace-loving middle-Americans who simply want their representatives to demonstrate fiscal and personal responsibility. They want low taxes, and limited government where free markets flourish. These core values can be found in the Republican Party platform. Since when did the mere mention of these principles strike fear and panic in the hearts of our local politicians?
Read moreVOTE TODAY! Goldwater Institute Lawsuit Restores First Amendment Rights at Polling Places
A federal judge has issued an emergency order stating that Maricopa County cannot ban clothing worn by voters on Election Day that refers to the phrase “tea party,” unless there’s also a message on the clothing that attempts to influence how other voters might cast their ballots.
Read moreWho’s Being Naughty?
This sticky-fingered little miscreant was observed with these signs in his hands around 6 pm on Tuesday, 1/18/2011. Does anybody know who this is? Hmmmmmm? It looks like he’s removing two signs from in front of the Town Council Building at 50 E. Civic Center Dr. Who put him up to this? I wonder if he has a collection of “No On Prop 406” signs in his garage? Remember how those disappeared? The ones handmade by Gilbert’s children?
Read more5/16/2011 & 5/19/2011 Town Council Study Session & Meeting
All three MOU’s were passed by the Council. Rating a #10 on the Gilbert Watch “Incredulity Meter,” Council Member Abbott stated that she “respects the Constitution and the First Amendment and the right for people to assemble and belong to organizations, and so I support the right of our employees to belong to organizations in which they want to be affiliated.”
Read moreGoldwater Institute Enters Free Speech Fracas
In response to members of the public requesting assistance from the Goldwater Institute to intervene in the Gilbert Town Council’s decision to deny citizens the opportunity to discuss a proposed tax hike at council meetings, the Institute issued the following email to the Gilbert Town Council on February 18, 2010:
Read moreIndependence Day Disappointment
Why celebrate “Independence Day” when so many American people have no idea what it means? Christmas is the Winter Holiday. Easter is the Spring Holiday. So, should we rename Independence Day? How about Fireworks Extravaganza Day?
Read moreGilbert Bans Bible Studies in Homes!
The Town of Gilbert has the resources to send warning letters to private citizens forbidding Bible studies in homes, but no money for police and fire?
Read morePlain Logic: Constitutional Law and Executive Orders
by Rusdon Ray, president of The Defenders of Liberty
Recently, The President of the United States signed 23 Executive Actions. We were told by the media and thought and believed leading up to the signing, that it was all in relation to gun control or the Second Amendment. We were naive. The President and his cabinet not only violated the Second Amendment but also the First Amendment regarding additional requirements on religion, the Fourth Amendment regarding unwarranted and unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment of right to remain silent and due process for self-incrimination etc. and the Tenth Amendment of states rights and "any law not specifically delegated to the federal government in the US Constitution is reserved to the states." All of these 23 mandates signed into law today blatantly violate the Constitution of the United States of America.
Read moreBible Study Ban Followup
The Gilbert Town Council held a Special Meeting Monday night (3/22/2010) to discuss the now infamous Land Development Code (LDC) and the need to revise a couple of land use provisions. This meeting took place because of a series of events that led to a major media dust-up that put Gilbert in a most troubling national spotlight. Gilbert, the “forward looking, family oriented community with a small town atmosphere,” had become “the City that forbids bible studies in homes.” This is not the reputation that Mayor John Lewis and the Council Members had in mind for the Town.
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