Pubdate: Fri, 06 Mar 2015
Source: Northern News (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Northern News
Contact: http://www.northernnews.ca/letters
Website: http://www.northernnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2315
Author: Rick Owen
Page: A3

FREE SPEECH DOES NOT ENTITLE YOU TO BREAK LAW

I do strongly object if you openly disregard the values of this
community and then expect the community to support your cause.

On Monday we saw something in Kirkland Lake that we don't often see, a
protest march.

The march was held to support Tripping Daisy owner Darren Delaney in
his efforts to sell water pipes, known as bongs and vaporizers. The
OPP Organized Crime Bureau executed a search warrant on his shop on
February 5, and seized his merchandise. The store owner estimates the
cost of the merchandise to be about $25,000.

According to information supplied by the protest march organizers,
Delaney was charged February 11 for selling items intended to be used
for consuming an illicit drug - a dry herb vaporizer, concealment
container, and two pipes with marijuana leaves on them.

I support this groups right to free speech, assembly and
demonstration. These are basic rights that we as Canadians enjoy,
rights that our forefathers fought and died for. But that is where the
support ends.

I really have no opinion on whether 'head shops' should be allowed.
They are not places I would go and at the same time I don't get
offended or upset if they operate in the community I live in.

I do, however, have a major problem when people think their rights to
free speech, assembly and protest include blatantly breaking the law.
I do have a problem when an outside agitator comes into the community
I live in and instructs people how to break the law as they walk along
the main street of my town and stand in front of the Kirkland Lake OPP
Detachment.

Just because you don't like a law, that doesn't give you the right to
not only break it, but to rub it in the face of community values. I
don't care if you smoke marijuana in the privacy of you own residence,
that is your choice. You take the risk of getting arrested for
breaking the law. I do strongly object if you openly disregard the
values of this community and then expect the community to support your
cause.

First off, the rally wasn't about legalizing marijuana or even smoking
marijuana. It was about standing up for a business person that is
facing criminal charges and it was about trying to get the law he was
charged under changed.

I also object to all the claims I heard about all of the community
support this protest march had. Out of 9,000 plus people who live in
Kirkland Lake, not to mention the people who live in Larder Lake,
Virginiatown, Englehart and the unorganized areas, the march consisted
of about 30 people. Yes, as a reporter covering this I did do a head
count. Now if you subtract the out of town agitator, and the people
that came from outside the immediate area, the number goes down to
about 26. No matter what type of math you use or whether you use 30 or
26, this number isn't statistically significant and certainly doesn't
equate to community support.

It is beyond understanding that the participants could think they had
community support with so few people taking part. During the rally,
speeches time and time again I heard how the community was supporting
this issue. No matter how much you smoked that day, I don't see how
you could come to this conclusion.

By openly breaking the law, they just furthered muddied the waters
about what this protest was all about. Was it about being able to walk
down the street smoking marijuana or was it about supporting Delaney?

Much was made about the benefits of medical marijuana, and how Delaney
was supplying 'harm reduction' items for people to smoke their medical
marijuana. I have no problem with that. If I had health problems where
medical marijuana would benefit me, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to
use it. But I would use it as prescribed by a healthcare professional,
I wouldn't abuse it and I certainly wouldn't walk down the street
smoking medical marijuana.

While the people that took part in the march were instructed not to
blow smoke in the police officers' faces, simply by walking downtown
smoking they were in fact doing just that. I have to praise the OPP
officers for showing their professionalism and not arresting anyone.
If they had, that would have given the protesters another issue and a
chance to try and get national publicity.

Thankfully, we live in a free and democratic society and we don't risk
repercussions for letting our dissatisfaction with government known.
We have the right to peaceful assembly, we have the right to express
ourselves and speak openly, but these rights do not give us the right
to openly break laws we don't agree with. These rights do give us the
privilege of challenging these laws and working in a free society to
get them changed.

If everyone disobeyed laws they didn't think were just or appropriate,
then we would not live in a free and democratic society - we would
live in anarchy.

Another thing that our society gives us is a free press, where the
government doesn't sensor what is written. This is a keystone of
democracy and free speech. As a reporter I believe that I did my job
reporting on the reason for the protest and what was said. I also
believe that I kept my personal opinion about openly breaking the law
out of the story. This is confirmed by two emails I have received from
people taking part in the protest complimenting me on my coverage.

What I have written here is a column and it reflects my personal
feelings and in this case strongly held opinions. Again, because we
live in a free and democratic society, I have the right to do this and
I take this responsibility very seriously.

I will always defend the right to free speech and peaceful assembly as
strongly as I can. We are so lucky to live in a country where this is
possible, and I worry that our society will not always be as free as
it is today. But I will never condone the breaking of the law, even if
you think your cause ifs just.

This column could have been very different had the protesters obeyed
the laws and the values of this community. But in this case, any
chance for community support went up in smoke.
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MAP posted-by: Matt