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With So Much Drama in the LBC: Anti-War Vets Excluded from Long Beach Veterans Day Parade

I love my home town, I really do. I proudly tell people that Long Beach is my home town and visiting Long Beach is, to me, like wrapping myself in a warm blanket. And if it were possible, my affection for my home town grew when I read this story. Apparently anti-war veterans are being banned from marching in the Long Beach Veterans Day parade. When I first read this story, I thought that this had to be unconstitutional; a classic view point discrimination (as opposed to a reasonable time place and manner restriction). However(!), the parade is run by a non profit, private organization called the Veterans Day Parade Committee. No state action baby so this is totally legal dude. The stated reason for excluding anti war vets is, ?They do not fit the spirit of the parade, the spirit being one of gratitude for what the veterans have done?We do not want groups of a political nature, advocating the troops' withdrawal from Iraq?These veterans groups certainly have First Amendment rights?the parade committee also has the First Amendment right to exclude whoever they wish if (the entry) does not keep within the theme.? I do remember (vaguely) some case about upholding the exclusion of homosexual groups marching in a St. Patty?s Day Parade because the organizers of the parade indeed have a constitutional right to exclude proponents of messages they reject under the First Amendment. (It would be different if the city was in charge of the parade).

I don?t agree with this decision just because I believe, like the organizers, that a Veterans Day parade should not be political and be a show of gratitude for what our vets do for us. I don?t think that anti-homosexual groups or pro-traditional marriage groups should be allowed to march in Long Beach?s infamous gay pride parade for the same reasons. If the anti-war veterans want to march in a parade, go create your own (it seems you can?t throw a rock in the bay area without hitting an anti-war protest, so just come up here and parade around if you want). Just don?t expect a huge turn-out; as the recent slew of anti-war box office bombs shows us, most people don?t find anti-war activism particularly entertaining.

Full post as published by SoapBox Law on November 09, 2007 (boomark / email).