Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

August 10, 2010

An afternoon outing with her husband and 7-year-old son at Children?s Splash Park in Tavares, Florida became a Kafkaesque ordeal for Janet Lovett , a native of Peru who recently became a U.S. citizen.

As the family enjoyed the water park, Mrs. Lovett?s shirt was soaked and became translucent. An official identifying himself as a city employee asked Janet to change into a swimsuit. Wrapping herself with a towel, Janet excused herself and went to change.

In the parking lot, she was accosted by a Deputy Sheriff who demanded information. Janet asked to speak to her husband; the request was refused. When the officer demanded identification, Janet hesitated momentarily ? and promptly found herself arrested for ?suspicion of obstructing justice and resisting arrest.? She was abducted at gunpoint and confined for five hours as her husband frantically scrambled to raise $1,500 bail.

The flimsy charges ? a pretext to arrest a suspected illegal immigrant -- were dropped. This incident illustrates the harassment that will ensue if Arizona-style ?papers, please? laws prevail.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.