Obscene Display?

I find it a slight bit ridiculous, and rarely will comment on these kinds of things, but this one really pushed my buttons. There was a recent arrest in the gentle state of Georgia regarding a pro-life truck displaying pictures of an aborted fetus. The truck was vandalized and impounded by police as well as deemed inappropriate, vulgar, and obscene. My question is this, how in the world do we minimize the loss of life so much so that an advertisement for a strip club with half-naked women, implied murder scenes for the next gore flick, and a borderline pornographic billboard for Grand Theft Auto have greater decency than that of one depicting the reality (as opposed to created fantasy) of our culture? Could someone please tell me which direction truthville is? I suppose the greatest question I would ask of those who label this kind of display as vulgar and obscene (granted they are pro-abortion) would be this, "Why do you find something that you say is perfectly alright to be upsetting and obscene to view? Please Read More Below for the Press Release. Georgia Cops Impound Anti-Abortion Billboard Truck, Jail Driver
Police action an egregious abuse of power

ATLANTA, Nov. 26 /Christian Newswire/ -- Bob Roethlisberger was arrested and jailed over Thanksgiving weekend in a northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, on the charge of "Disorderly Conduct" for driving Operation Rescue's Truth Truck bearing signs with photos of aborted babies. The Truth Truck was impounded.

Gwinnett County Police Department officers arrested Roethlisberger Saturday after telling him that signage on the Truth Truck was "vulgar and obscene." Officers ransacked the back of the Truth Truck without a warrant and ordered Roethlisberger to change or remove the signs. When he refused, he was arrested and incarcerated for three days before being released on $1,000 bond.
Photo: Operation Rescue's Truth Truck

The Truth Truck was released from impound late Monday, however the both the signs and the mounting hardware on the truck were damaged when police forcibly ripped the signs off the sides of the truck. Monetary damage to the property is estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.

"It is obvious that these police officers, under the direction of Major Thomas Bardugon, engaged in a serious incident of unconstitutional content-based discrimination and illegal destruction of property," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Bob fully cooperated with officers, but refused to compromise on his message, which is unequivocally protected by the First Amendment. The officers misused their authority to punish Bob for expressing a viewpoint that ran counter to theirs. The arrest was nothing less than an egregious abuse of power."

Newman discussed the matter with Major Bardugon who refused to drop the charges and threatened to arrest Newman if he drove the Truth Truck through Bardugon's jurisdiction.

The Truth Truck was in Georgia because a recently introduced Human Life Amendment that is scheduled to be considered by the State Legislature in January. The Truth Truck's mission was to help draw the attention of Georgians to the reality that abortion brutally takes an innocent human life, and emphasize the need to ban the grisly procedure.

Operation Rescue manages a fleet of Truth Trucks that have traveled tens of thousands of miles from coast to coast over the past seven years. The right to display those images has been upheld in courts across the nation, which have also ruled that obscenity laws do not apply to aborted baby images.

"We intend to vigorously fight these unjust charges and will seek a remedy for our property loss," said Newman. "We cannot allow the illegal use of police authority to bully us into silence, when such silence could cost innocent human lives."

Please contact the Gwinnett County Police Chief and ask for:

* The immediate dismissal of charges against Roethlisberger
* The immediate reimbursement for damages to the Truth Truck
* An apology

Chief of Police Charles M. Walters
770-513-5000
Charles.Walters@gwinnettcounty.com

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.

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