[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Sanatorum Book Signing..the whole thing
- From: Stormy435@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 17:02:42 EDT
Okay...so many want it, so here it is: Long
From CAPetLaw list>>>>
Subject: Del. state trooper helps enforce Rick Santorum's 'family' values
The author of PAWS
Del. state trooper helps enforce Rick Santorum's 'family' values
08/14/2005
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, the Republican from Pennsylvania, espouses many
controversial views -- that women shouldn't work outside the home, that
legalizing gay marriage would lead to legalizing polygamy and
bestiality, that government should discourage birth control.
He's even written a book, "It Takes a Family," to spread his viewpoint.
Understandably, people who disagree would like to tell him so. But, as
several teenagers and some of their parents found out last week, trying
to do that in Delaware could land you in jail. Santorum appeared at the
Barnes & Noble bookstore adjacent to Concord Mall on U.S. 202 Wednesday
night for what was billed as a book signing and discussion. College
students Stacey Galperin and Miriam Rocek of Newark decided to attend to
hear what he had to say.
"I knew about him from his promotion of the federal marriage amendment,"
said Rocek, 19. "I thought I would go and just talk to him during the
book signing, tell him I disagreed with a lot of his policies, just
engage him in dialogue."
Hannah Shaffer, an 18-year-old from Glen Mills, Pa., who graduated in
June from Garnet Valley High School, and several friends had the same
idea.
"When I got there about 6 o'clock, a group of young people had
congregated," Shaffer said. The handful of Garnet Valley students and
the girls from Newark started talking about the event, and someone joked
about having Santorum sign a book by a gay author.
That drew the attention of someone on Santorum's advance team.
According to Shaffer, the woman "called them shameful and said she was
disgusted by the reasons they were there, that they should be there to
support [Santorum]."
"Rick Santorum's security team felt they were going to be a security
threat and asked them to leave," said Amanda Winnington, the community
relations manager for the Barnes & Noble store.
The security, however, wasn't provided by a private guard, but by
off-duty Delaware State Police Sgt. Michael DiJiacomo, who was hired for
the occasion through a private security service. No official report of
the incident was filed because no arrests were made, but state police
spokesman Lt. Joe Aviola said, "As I understand it, they actually were
being disorderly within the store. Someone overheard them saying they
were going to cause a disruption."
That's not quite the version the teens related. "I heard [DiJiacomo] ask
the woman, 'Do you want me to get rid of them,?' " Galperin said. "I
went to tell the kids the cop was going to kick them out, and he was
very pushy. He came up to us and said, 'If you don't leave you'll be
arrested, and if you can't post bail you'll be put in prison.' He said
it was private property and we would be arrested for trespassing."
When the girls protested that they hadn't done anything, DiJiacomo told
them they were under arrest. After taking them from the store, Galperin
said, "He told Miriam to put her hands on the car and kept telling us,
'You're going to embarrass your family, you won't get into college with
this on your record.' "
After checking their identification, though, DiJiacomo let the two
college students leave.
The younger teens, meanwhile, had gone to Concord Mall to call their
parents to pick them up. When Hannah's mother, Heidi Shaffer, arrived,
DiJiacomo had told the teens they were banned indefinitely not only from
the bookstore but the entire mall next door.
"He told me this wasn't the time or place for these kids to protest,"
Heidi Shaffer said. "He [also] told me if any of the children was
arrested I would have to appear in court, and that I could not take any
of the kids into the store unless I wanted to be charged with
contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I said I wanted to talk to
the Barnes & Noble management, and he said it's not up to the
management, that Barnes & Noble had no authority.
"What he told me was, 'They don't want you there,' that it was all under
the direction of Santorum. Maybe he was making it up, because I called
Santorum's people and they've denied it to me, but I got the impression
they didn't want anyone there who didn't agree with him."
Barnes & Noble's Winnington confirmed that only customers who had a
receipt for Santorum's book were allowed near him.
Officials of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Greenville, which
published Santorum's book, did not return calls for comment.
"These are all honor students," Heidi Shaffer said. "It was
unconscionable. I don't know when they passed a law in Delaware that
said you can't have a cup of coffee and discuss your opposition to a
book."
They haven't yet, but give them time.
Al Mascitti's weblog, First Statements, appears at
www.delawareonline.com. Contact him at 324-2866 or
amascitti@....
© 2005 delawareonline.com/The News Journal
*^*\/\/\/\/*^**^*\/\/\/\/*^**^*\/\/\/\/*^*
Dog's love is different, it requires no return
www.FairhopeGSD.com
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org
============================================================================
Other related posts:
- » [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Sanatorum Book Signing..the whole thing
