51–60 of 693 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They aren’t being arrested for being anti-monarchy though. > They are being arrested for being rude about it. Got it. Arrested for poor taste. Hard to see the justification for that in a democracy?
You will be arrested for hurling obscenities at mourners regardless of who the dead person is. People were arrested at Margaret Thatchers funeral for the same thing. It’s not rocket science. You’re not allowed to do that.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You will be arrested for hurling obscenities at mourners regardless of who the dead person is. People were arrested at Margaret Thatchers funeral for the same thing. It’s not rocket science. You’re not allowed to do that.
In the United States, with certain limits [1], one can picket funerals and be massively disrespectful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church#Laws_l...
"(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he/she:
(a) uses threatening (or abusive) words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or
(b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening (or abusive)"
It is worth noting that a long-running tradition in the UK is that if a policeman disagrees with a piece of legislation and the opportunity arises to challenge it favourably in court, he arrests somebody under the legislation in question in what may be favourable but reasonable circumstances (favourable to the defendant) in order to circumscribe the limitations of the act in question. As a consequence, in many ways, I therefore think that this may also be a challenge by police officers to the validity of the conservative government's latest legislation that aims to ban "disruptive" protests, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which was largely modified to deal with the (IMO effective) protests of the Insulate Britain campaign who recently brought major motorways to a crawl. It is a deeply divisive and very authoritarian bill, and would cover this situation. Specifically, it provides that:
"[...] police forces are allowed to place restrictions on protests they believe would otherwise constitute an existing offence of public nuisance, including imposing starting and finishing times and noise limits, and be able to consider actions by one individual as protests under provisions of the Act. Protestors disobeying such instructions from the police may be committing a criminal offence."
As recognised by the police, positing the possibility of transitioning to a republic (from a constitutional monarchy) is almost certainly a clear-cut case of a legitimate piece of protest, and so if someone _did_ protest accordingly _without_ being rude and disruptive I think this would be a perfect opportunity for the courts to throw out the charge.
Edit: Further bits of fun law – "public nuisance" is both a tort and a very old legal concept, recommended effectively for removal and updating from the criminal statutes by the Law Commission in 2015 [2]. It is described quite formally in many words (c.f. [2]) but more usefully defined by the fact that it
typically consists either of an environmental nuisance, such as carrying on
works producing excessive noise or smells, or of offensive or dangerous behaviour
in public, such as noisy parties and hanging from bridges.
It also includes obstructing the public highway, though now this is also a statutory offence.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police,_Crime,_Sentencing_and_...
[2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You will be arrested for hurling obscenities at mourners regardless of who the dead person is. People were arrested at Margaret Thatchers funeral for the same thing. It’s not rocket science. You’re not allowed to do that.
In the United States, with certain limits [1], one can picket funerals and be massively disrespectful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church#Laws_l...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They aren’t being arrested for being anti-monarchy though. > They are being arrested for being rude about it. Got it. Arrested for poor taste. Hard to see the justification for that in a democracy?
Do you really think you should have the right to disrupt the funeral of someone you don’t like?
Even more so if the public is the one paying for the funeral in the first place. You're definitely allowed to be rude at a funeral you're footing the bill for.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They aren’t being arrested for being anti-monarchy though. > They are being arrested for being rude about it. Got it. Arrested for poor taste. Hard to see the justification for that in a democracy?
You will be arrested for hurling obscenities at mourners regardless of who the dead person is. People were arrested at Margaret Thatchers funeral for the same thing. It’s not rocket science. You’re not allowed to do that.
But in fairness to the police there seems to be a mass fervour at the moment and they may actually be doing the hecklers a service by taking them away for their own safety...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the United States, with certain limits [1], one can picket funerals and be massively disrespectful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church#Laws_l...
But this is a case in the UK. They have different laws and observe different decorum. Even in the US I would think protesting a funeral to be in extremely poor taste, no matter the target. What’s that Latin phrase about the recently dead?
They aren’t being arrested for being anti-monarchy though. They are being arrested for being rude about it. Was the fella on radio 4 who stated to the entire nation that ‘King Charles and his family should be put in a council house and that the Monarchy should be abolished’ arrested? No. If you are going to attend a funeral, any funeral, be it the Queen’s or anyone else’s and hurl abuse or hold up signs with obscenit…
> They aren’t being arrested for being anti-monarchy though. > They are being arrested for being rude about it. Got it. Arrested for poor taste. Hard to see the justification for that in a democracy?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's fair to make certain events, like funerals, off-limits to protest. Freedom of speech does not mean you are free to say anything you want wherever you want. I can't just walk into the Oval Office and start hurling obscenities at the President, and attempting to do so is likely to get me shot by the Secret Service.
> Freedom of speech does not mean you are free to say anything you want wherever you want. I can't just walk into the Oval Office and start hurling obscenities at the President, and attempting to do so is likely to get me shot by the Secret Service. For trespassing. This example has nothing to do with speech.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the United States, with certain limits [1], one can picket funerals and be massively disrespectful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church#Laws_l...
That section you linked shows that free-speech is indeed limited within a certain radius of certain funerals.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the United States, with certain limits [1], one can picket funerals and be massively disrespectful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church#Laws_l...
But this is a case in the UK. They have different laws and observe different decorum. Even in the US I would think protesting a funeral to be in extremely poor taste, no matter the target. What’s that Latin phrase about the recently dead?