ACLU Seeks to End Ban on Sales of Shirt Listing Iraq War Dead
PHOENIX - The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a federal judge to void a new law making it a crime to sell products with the names of dead soldiers. It may be the first such challenge of any law of this kind in the nation.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, the attorneys charge that the law, which took effect on May 24, violates the constitutional rights of Flagstaff businessman Dan Frazier. He has sold T-shirts that feature the words “Bush Lied” on one side and “They Died” on the other - over a field of the names of more than 3,000 U.S. service members who died in Iraq.
What is causing immediate concern, the lawsuit states, is that Flagstaff police officers told Frazier just a week ago that they were preparing a report on his activities and referring it to the City Attorney’s Office, “which would seek the filing of a criminal complaint.”
The law subjects offenders to up to six months in jail.
State Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, the sponsor of the measure, said the lawsuit didn’t surprise him.
Waring said he believes the new law will withstand a legal challenge. He said he can’t be the only one to believe that, noting that the measure gained unanimous legislative approval as well as the signature of Gov. Janet Napolitano.
But Waring, noting that other states have enacted similar laws, said there have been no rulings and no lawsuits testing this kind of statute.
At the heart of the issue is the scope of the First Amendment right of freedom of speech. Frazier has argued - and no one has disagreed - he is entitled to protest the war.
Waring’s measure seeks to avoid that issue by limiting the prohibition on the use of the names of dead soldiers without permission of relatives to the sale of items or the promotion of a business. He said that means Frazier is making money off their names.
Attorney Charles Babbitt, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, acknowledged that courts have concluded there is less protection for what is considered “commercial speech.” But Babbitt said that is defined as an activity “solely related to the economic interest of the speaker and its audience.”
Put another way, Babbitt said, as long as what Frazier is doing has some legitimate political purpose, it is legally irrelevant that he is selling the T-shirts and making money.
Alessandra Meetze, director of the Arizona chapter of the ACLU, said it’s no different from Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken selling a book of political thoughts. She said these books, and their authors, are protected by the First Amendment even though they are making a profit.
Meetze also said this is different from someone making money from the sale of an item with the name of a pop star.
“People are buying those T-shirts because of the political message,” she said. “They’re not buying it because of the name of the soldier.”
Even if the ACLU wins the case, that won’t void the entire law. Another section gives the relatives of dead soldiers the right to file a civil lawsuit to block the sale of items with the names and seek to recoup any profits made by the seller.
Copyright © 2007 Arizona Daily Star
Political message is crucial.
Had Joe Frederick’s “BONG HiTS 4 JeSUS” been political, his defense would have had been able to dispel Justice Roberts’ opinion on the promotion of drugs. Frederick’s never once said his message was political –he could have won.
Newspapers list names of dead soldiers and make money.
Why can’t a T-shirt seller?
The T-shirts may also contain a political opinion.
But so do newspaper editorials.
Placed my order today!
Just placed my order. Fight these bastards with every thing we can. I will, as a vet, wear my TShirt proudly
I’ve owned one of these for perhaps half a year. Its quite effective.
It honors the dead and points a terribly well deserved finger at their disgraceful commander in chief.
Since when are the employers of workers whose functions are unclassified not permitted to know their employees’ names? Since when do employers not make money using their employees? When did the U.S. government stop working for the taxpayers of the U.S.?
i think its sad that the government is restricting the very rights they say that the soldiers are over there dying for in the first place.
They died for a lie but can’t be forgotten wear the t-shirt with pride
Let’s all buy these shirts!
Got the shirt as a gift the other day.
The assault on our rights and liberties by this administration and Supreme Court is astounding. Unfortunately bush’s legacy will live a long time through his appointments and was one of the worst things to come from this most disastrous of a presidency.
I’m wearing my shirt today during the Noon to 1 p.m. antiwar vigil that has been on the same corner in Pittsburgh every Saturday since January 2003.
If the ACLU loses the case–or perhaps even immediately– Dan Frazier might want to consider GIVING AWAY the T-shirts. He could make up the loss by raising his prices on other merchandise, and publicizing the move.
It is perfectly obvious that the rationale for the legal action is a pretext; the real objective is to stifle an offending political voice. Eliminating the commercial transaction would cleverly defeat this meretricious right-wing gambit.
But it’s OK that Halliburton, Blackwater, etc., have made their dollars on the business of killing lots of people.
The US is depraved.
Just curious, but is news about what is happening in the war in Iraq disappearing from this website? I tend to cruise through several sites on a Sat morning looking for news. Antiwar.com and Truthout.org both have posted an AP story about how the US killed 26 civilians in a Baghdad slum. Apparently just by firing randomly in a crowded urban area. Interesting that this sort of story doesn’t seem to make it on CommonDreams as much anymore.
Actually, very very few U.S. troops have ‘died’ in Iraq. A great many, however, have been KILLED in Iraq…a difference in language that is neither subtle nor un-important.
No pictures of flag draped coffins and no names of fallen soldiers; what does Bushco ban next? Makes you wonder if the soldiers are really “fighting for our freedom”. Could the fight really be for the rights to Iraqi oil?
I am inspired!! I just ordered 2 of these shirts and I’ll wear them everywhere now.
The Bush Crime Family must be brought to justice.
I’m going to send all friends the link to the website.
I think it would be even more effective if the seller would place asterisks between the initial & final letter of each first & last name, and the note at the top “Censored by Republicans In Defense of Freedom”.
See what else Bush & Co are doing..
http://naked-sam.blogspot.com/2007/07/bush-outlaws-all-war-protest-in-us.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Oldline_Republican_warns_somethings_in_works_0719.html
The issue is not the war, or freedom of speech!
DO NOT USE ANYONE’S name without permission and then PROFIT from it. DO YOU THINK THOSE DEAD SOLDIERS WANT THEIR NAME ON A POLITIC T-SHIRT? We don’t know and we should respect the relatives of these dead soldiers, - regardless of how anyone feels about this war.
How about a T-SHIRT of military boots w/Halo’s???