4 ms·

At what point does the behaviour that can ban you from a place be defined? An official can't open their office in an area restricted to a protected class so the

by MRD85 8y ago

At what point does the behaviour that can ban you from a place be defined? An official can't open their office in an area restricted to a protected class so there is a defined line somewhere in between banning flaming crosses and banning protected classes. My issue with this is that it gives a human the ability to define non-acceptable non-criminal behaviour.

mc32 8y ago
Right. What if it's held at a free to enter location which has a $10 parking fee (county fairgrounds or whatnot). I guess this might be one of those wishy-washy "We'll know it when we see it" things which can take a tortuous route depending on the details, appeals, etc.
tptacek 8y ago
I don't understand. We all define non-acceptable non-criminal behavior all the time.
bilbo0s 8y ago
That's not how it works. Never has been. If you are a politician, you are perfectly free to speak at the local Klan rally. (David Duke does it all the time.) The fact that blacks are not allowed at the Klan rally is a problem for blacks, but not for David Duke. He is free, and I would think even encouraged, to engage with as many constituents as possible. Wherever he can find them. So for instance, if David Duke had a noblacksallowed.com page, BUT he also had an office in a non-restricted area, he's good. You or I may not like that, but there is no Constitutional restriction against what he's doing. Blacks are perfectly free to go to his office for the purposes of making comments or lodging complaints. Being black is completely non-criminal, but, unfortunately, there exists a group of people for whom being black is also completely non-acceptable. And that group of people are absolutely free to set up exclusionary areas on their own private property. David Duke may even happen to speak in some of those exclusionary areas. Again, you or I may not like that fact, but that's just reality. Nothing's really changed with this ruling, it always has been like this.
- MRD85 8y ago
  What if the town hall is in a nonblacksallowed site? If you're banned from a shopping mall that has the only town hall it is going to have the same affect on your life.
  - bilbo0s 8y ago
    The noblacksallowed mall is allowed to have meetings on their private property at their sole discretion. (I'm assuming that the noblacsallowed mall is a private mall with a racial exclusivity clause in its membership requirements.) So at the meetings they are also free to invite and host, as a guest speaker, whatever politician they choose. There's no Constitutional power that the government would have to stop that. So again, the David Dukes of the world are safe. David Duke is free to do any guest appearance for his constituents or anyone else at any venue they want. We may not like that, but that's just how it's always worked. Now there might be an issue if David Duke were to put his official full time office in the noblacksallowed mall, and conduct ALL his official business there. But even then, that would be an issue for David Duke, NOT an issue for the mall.
    - krustyburger 8y ago
      A mall is a shopping center. In the United States, it is illegal to have a “no blacks” shopping center, even if it is technically a private membership. The Civil Rights Act is the relevant law.
- tptacek 8y ago
  David Duke doesn't hold a government position. He can speak wherever he likes; running for office (or having held office in the past) doesn't change whether he's a private citizen (he is) acting under color of law (he's not). Further, even an official can attend an exclusive private event, if they do so in their capacity as a private citizen. But if they go to events and conduct government business, that's problematic.
  - bilbo0s 8y ago

by MRD85 8y ago

mc32 8y ago

Right. What if it's held at a free to enter location which has a $10 parking fee (county fairgrounds or whatnot). I guess this might be one of those wishy-washy "We'll know it when we see it" things which can take a tortuous route depending on the details, appeals, etc.

tptacek 8y ago

I don't understand. We all define non-acceptable non-criminal behavior all the time.

bilbo0s 8y ago

That's not how it works. Never has been. If you are a politician, you are perfectly free to speak at the local Klan rally. (David Duke does it all the time.) The fact that blacks are not allowed at the Klan rally is a problem for blacks, but not for David Duke. He is free, and I would think even encouraged, to engage with as many constituents as possible. Wherever he can find them. So for instance, if David Duke had a noblacksallowed.com page, BUT he also had an office in a non-restricted area, he's good. You or I may not like that, but there is no Constitutional restriction against what he's doing. Blacks are perfectly free to go to his office for the purposes of making comments or lodging complaints. Being black is completely non-criminal, but, unfortunately, there exists a group of people for whom being black is also completely non-acceptable. And that group of people are absolutely free to set up exclusionary areas on their own private property. David Duke may even happen to speak in some of those exclusionary areas. Again, you or I may not like that fact, but that's just reality. Nothing's really changed with this ruling, it always has been like this.

MRD85 8y ago
What if the town hall is in a nonblacksallowed site? If you're banned from a shopping mall that has the only town hall it is going to have the same affect on your life.
- bilbo0s 8y ago
  The noblacksallowed mall is allowed to have meetings on their private property at their sole discretion. (I'm assuming that the noblacsallowed mall is a private mall with a racial exclusivity clause in its membership requirements.) So at the meetings they are also free to invite and host, as a guest speaker, whatever politician they choose. There's no Constitutional power that the government would have to stop that. So again, the David Dukes of the world are safe. David Duke is free to do any guest appearance for his constituents or anyone else at any venue they want. We may not like that, but that's just how it's always worked. Now there might be an issue if David Duke were to put his official full time office in the noblacksallowed mall, and conduct ALL his official business there. But even then, that would be an issue for David Duke, NOT an issue for the mall.
  - krustyburger 8y ago
    A mall is a shopping center. In the United States, it is illegal to have a “no blacks” shopping center, even if it is technically a private membership. The Civil Rights Act is the relevant law.
tptacek 8y ago
David Duke doesn't hold a government position. He can speak wherever he likes; running for office (or having held office in the past) doesn't change whether he's a private citizen (he is) acting under color of law (he's not). Further, even an official can attend an exclusive private event, if they do so in their capacity as a private citizen. But if they go to events and conduct government business, that's problematic.
- bilbo0s 8y ago