Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

November 28, 2007

About a year ago, Oregon pro-life activist David Brownlow and his family were were accosted by Oregon State Trooper Ken Moore and threatened with arrest for the supposed offense of holding up an anti-war protest sign on a sidewalk near a Portland shopping mall.

Brownlow, whose son Jared is serving in Iraq, was holding a sign reading ?Support the Troops ? Bring Them Home!? Trooper Moore stomped over to the family, accused them of ?breaking the law,? and ordered them to ?leave the area immediately.?

When Brownlow asked politely what law he and his family had broken, Moore bellowed: ?When a trooper tells you that you are breaking the law, that's all you need to know.? The officer stole their banner and forced the family to move to a nearby parking lot.

The Brownlows filed suit against Officer Moore, which was settled last July for $25,000. What Brownlow had sought ? an explicit affirmation of the right to assemble for free speech ? the state government wasn't willing to provide.

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