1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Oklahoma City police officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by OddsOn, Feb 19, 2009.

Tags:
Page 1 of 3
  1. OddsOn

    OddsOn Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2003
    Messages:
    2,555
    Likes Received:
    90
    Oklahoma City police officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle

    <embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1681694480?isVid=1&publisherID=713285227" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=13684357001&playerID=1681694480&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed>

    By Johnny Johnson - Staff Writer
    Published: February 19, 2009

    The police officers who stopped Oklahoma City motorist Chip Harrison and confiscated a sign from his car told him he has a right to his beliefs, but the Secret Service "could construe this as a threat against President Obama," according to the incident report released this morning.

    The sign, which read "Abort Obama Not the Unborn," was returned to Harrison later that day, the report said.

    Police spokesman Steve McCool said this morning that the sign was taken in error, and Oklahoma City residents should not be worried that their First Amendment rights will be violated.

    Harrison told the officers that in his opinion the words "Abort Obama" meant to impeach him. He told the officers he does not believe in abortion because he is a Christian.

    Harrison was stopped on westbound Interstate 240 at 8:45 a.m. on Feb. 12, according to the police report.

    Harrison said he later received a call from a person who said he was a lieutenant supervisor for the Internal Investigations Department and wanted to know his location and return his sign to him.

    According to Harrison, the supervisor said the Secret Service had been contacted on the matter and had told them the sign was not a threat to the president.

    Harrison was asked if he would like to file a complaint. He said he was not sure but would take the paperwork, just in case.

    But his run-in with the law wasn't over yet.

    ''The Secret Service called and said they were at my house," Harrison said.

    After talking to his attorney, Harrison went home where he met the Secret Service.

    ''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything ... they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."

    Harrison said he invited the Secret Service agents into the house and they were "very cordial."

    ''We walked through the house and my wife and 2-year-old were in the house," Harrison said.

    He said they interviewed him for about 30 minutes and then left, not finding any evidence Harrison was a threat to the president.

    ''I'm still in contact with a lawyer right now," Harrison said. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

    Harrison said he feels his First Amendment rights were violated.

    McCool said the officer who pulled over Harrison misinterpreted the sign.

    ''We had an officer that his interpretation of the sign was different than what was meant," McCool said. "You've got an officer who had a different thought on what the word 'abort' meant."

    McCool said the sign basically meant Obama should be impeached and it was not a threat.

    ''(The officer) shouldn't have taken the sign," McCool said. "That was (Harrison's) First Amendment right to voice his concern."

    McCool said although the sign should not have been confiscated, the situation was made right in the end.

    ''We always try to do the right thing and in the end we believe we did the right thing by returning the sign," McCool said.
     
    #1 OddsOn, Feb 19, 2009
  2. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 1999
    Messages:
    18,452
    Likes Received:
    119
    Abort Obama=Kill Obama, right?

    I'm all for free speech, but when someone uses it to say they want to kill the President, they've stepped over the line, IMHO....and I don't care who the President is. If someone would have had a sign that said Abort Bush I'd feel the same way.
     
    #2 RocketMan Tex, Feb 19, 2009
  3. Bandwagoner

    Bandwagoner Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    Messages:
    27,105
    Likes Received:
    3,757
    Yeah returning the sign that the JackBootedThug stole makes everything OK!
     
    #3 Bandwagoner, Feb 19, 2009
  4. Bandwagoner

    Bandwagoner Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    Messages:
    27,105
    Likes Received:
    3,757
    Main Entry: 1abort
    Pronunciation: \ə-ˈbȯrt\
    Function: verb
    Etymology: Latin abortus, past participle of aboriri to miscarry, from ab- + oriri to rise, be born — more at orient
    Date: 1580
    intransitive verb
    1: to bring forth stillborn, nonviable, or premature offspring
    2: to become checked in development so as to degenerate or remain rudimentary
    3: to terminate a procedure prematurely <the pilot decided to abort due to mechanical difficulties>transitive verb
    1 a: to induce the abortion of or give birth to prematurely b: to terminate the pregnancy of before term
    2 a: to terminate prematurely : cancel <abort a project> <abort a spaceflight> b: to stop in the early stages <abort a disease>
    —
     
    #4 Bandwagoner, Feb 19, 2009
  5. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2001
    Messages:
    18,100
    Likes Received:
    447
    Cop should be suspended or fired.

    Some of the people who will respond to this story need to be put on hypocrite watch. I'm curious how many people who don't care when police shoot a suspect who's lying on the ground will be up in arms over this story.


    Jackbooted thug? Are you kidding me, this was in Oklahoma right?
     
    #5 Oski2005, Feb 19, 2009
  6. mc mark

    mc mark Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 1999
    Messages:
    26,195
    Likes Received:
    471
    I think the idiot has every right to show the world he's a dick.

    Let him go!
     
    #6 mc mark, Feb 19, 2009
  7. Major

    Major Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 1999
    Messages:
    41,685
    Likes Received:
    16,213
    So he meant to basically say "Impeach Obama, Not the Unborn"? That doesn't make any sense. Of course, neither does "Abort Obama, Not the Unborn".
     
    #7 Major, Feb 19, 2009
  8. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    18,220
    Likes Received:
    8,604
    So if 6 months ago the sign said, "abort bush, not the unborn", it would be ok?
     
    #8 Space Ghost, Feb 19, 2009
  9. aghast

    aghast Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2003
    Messages:
    2,329
    Likes Received:
    169
    The corresponding sticker would have read: "Abort Bush, AND the unborn."

    And yes, though infantile, it should also be ok.
     
    #9 aghast, Feb 19, 2009
  10. mc mark

    mc mark Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 1999
    Messages:
    26,195
    Likes Received:
    471

    I liked "CONVICT THE CRIMINAL NOW!!!" better. :p

    But you're right! Imagine the outrage from Rush and the like if a democrat expressed that opinion about Bush. In a month we've seen several national stories about people wanting to harm or insinuate harm to the president.

    A lot of people don't like Bush, but they don't openly wish for his death.
     
    #10 mc mark, Feb 19, 2009
  11. stanleykurtz

    stanleykurtz Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2009
    Messages:
    154
    Likes Received:
    0
    I see nothing wrong with an early term abortion.
     
    #11 stanleykurtz, Feb 19, 2009
  12. Wakko67

    Wakko67 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2001
    Messages:
    3,375
    Likes Received:
    71
    This whole story seems like nothing at all. It will be annoying though if this guy sues the police dept and gets a lot of cash from it.

    I agree with some of you that people will be hippocrites as soon as the same story happens with the roles reversed.

    On a similar note, did anyone see Daily Show last night where they showed O'Reilly going off about paparazzi, but then having his guys do the same thing?
     
    #12 Wakko67, Feb 19, 2009
  13. halfbreed

    halfbreed Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2003
    Messages:
    5,157
    Likes Received:
    26
    Yes, they did.
     
    #13 halfbreed, Feb 19, 2009
  14. zoork34

    zoork34 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    2
    Well, living in Oklahoma and seeing signs like quite frequently, I am actually quite surprised that the officer didnt pull him over and ask where he could get a sign of his own.
     
    #14 zoork34, Feb 19, 2009
  15. orbb

    orbb Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2002
    Messages:
    2,045
    Likes Received:
    16
    Its hilarious to see all these "Obama" threads pop up. Not a peep during waterboarding scandals, plame gate etc.... Now someone threatens the president, gets arrested and people are frothing at the mouth.
     
    #15 orbb, Feb 20, 2009
  16. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 1999
    Messages:
    48,984
    Likes Received:
    1,445
    that was hilarious.

    if he meant impeach, why wouldn't he use the word impeach? he knows what he meant. and yes, i'd feel exactly the same way if the sign had said abort bush.

    now had it said dick cheney, i'm not sure. he is the anti-christ afterall. :p
     
    #16 Rocketman95, Feb 20, 2009
  17. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 1999
    Messages:
    48,984
    Likes Received:
    1,445
    so we can all agree now that abortion is not murder or killing.
     
    #17 Rocketman95, Feb 20, 2009
  18. Bandwagoner

    Bandwagoner Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    Messages:
    27,105
    Likes Received:
    3,757
    but I support the slaughter of babies. fug that.

    anyone see the ACLU helping this guy? Oh right, they only protect liberals.
     
    #18 Bandwagoner, Feb 20, 2009
  19. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 1999
    Messages:
    48,984
    Likes Received:
    1,445
    you're right.

    never happens.

    ever.

    never ever.

    at all.
     
    #19 Rocketman95, Feb 20, 2009
  20. Republic

    Republic Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2009
    Messages:
    374
    Likes Received:
    2
    I think this guy is a damned fool. On the one hand, he doesn't believe in abortion because he's a Christian. On the other hand, his sign says "Abort Obama...". There's a lot wrong with this situation...

    Let's focus on the context in which he's using the word "abortion". In his statement, he says he doesn't believe in abortion because he's Christian. Okay, well, that's all fine and dandy. But, if you think about it, in this sense he's referring to "abortion" meaning "to kill or murder". I mean, Christianity doesn't condemn impeachment does it? No. It condemns abortion as killing the unborn. Next, the guy has a sign saying to abort someone (Obama) and not someone else (the unborn). This has to be in the same usage of the term "abort" or it doesn't make sense. The unborn are not elected and impeachment doesn't apply. Am I right? Thus, the man's saying "kill Obama, not the unborn". Am I right?

    This guy's an idiot and in my opinion doesn't deserve the right to vote, let alone have an opinion. I'm not sure what kind of punishment should be given, or even if any should be given. It may or may not fall under free speech. That said, I think law enforcement did the correct job in this case. They were right to question him. I don't think he should have been given his stupid sign back, but anyway, I guess they made their point with the guy.

    I think the guy's an idiot and he lied to police.
     
    #20 Republic, Feb 20, 2009
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 3

Share This Page