Judy Vincent, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, learned last year that Cpl. Scott M. Vincent's name is among about 1,700 on a t-shirt that reads 'Bush Lied' and 'They Died.'
She pushed for an Oklahoma a law making it a misdemeanor to use a soldier's name or likeness without consent. The law goes into effect this November. U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., introduced a similar bill in Congress two weeks ago...
The shirt vendor "has the right to voice his opinion, as we all do," Vincent says. "But I do believe the First Amendment stops when you use a person's name or likeness to make a profit. ..."
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Mom
Wants Dead Son Off Anti-War Shirt
For a while it seemed that the battle was to make sure that t-shirts not supportive of the Bush administration and/or the war in Iraq were not on public display. But now that the hypocrisy of the fight to remove t-shirts from the backs of their wearers has been exposed, the battle to control what t-shirts say and which are produced begins.
My question is, if it is made illegal for t-shirt manufacturers to print facts such as the names of
soldiers killed on t-shirts, why would it be legal for sculptors to be allowed to etch the names
of those killed in battles on monuments? Don't sculptors get paid for their work?
And how about news broadcasters? They make money. Should they be prevented from announcing the names of
the war dead? I mean, the caskets can no longer be shown. Perhaps announcing the names of those
killed can also be deemed to be in bad taste.
Or, have we decided that it's in our interest to for the government in power to decide who is allowed to put what slogans on our t-shirts?
Below is a reverse chronology of recent (public) t-shirt removals and other t-shirt-related troubles. I've been
collecting this list for quite some time; it's long, but I suspect I've missed a few incidents.
Note how many of these t-shirt related events seem to occur in the months just before elections... (Or, in
the months just before we invaded Iraq.
And also note how the Secret Service agents making these arrests (aren't they government employees???
are increasingly claiming that because the ground the protesters are standing in is or has been --
temporarily -- declared private property, they must immediately remove their shirts or be arrested. Hey,
wouldn't the FCC object to that???)
- Arrest: June 30, 2006: Busted for wearing a peace T-shirt
- Incident: Mon Jul 24, 2006: Given away by an England football shirt
- Here are a couple that Big Brother will most certainly allow
- Monday, July 24, 2006: Group Designs Clothing To Show Support for Troops
- Friday, July 21, 2006: Lobbying to restrict commercial use of soldiers' names and images
- Incident: June 10, 2006: Man Refused Flight for Anti-Bush T-Shirt Now Selling Them on the Net
- June 2, 2006: Woman Refuses To Change Anti-Bush Shirt For Sentencing
- Arrest: Fri, March 3, 2006: Fisherman arrested for giving away an anti-FEMA t-shirt in Louisiana
- Arrest: Jan. 31, 2006
Charges dropped: Feb 1, 2006: Antiwar mom, representative's wife removed from State of the Union
- Incident: October 6, 2005 Southwest boots woman for shirt
- Arrest: September 2005: Girl arrested over Bollocks to Blair shirt
- November 1, 2004: T shirts and ABC News "balance"
- Nov. 1, 2004: ABC News Investigation: Campaigns Rally Against Wrong T-Shirts
- Detainment date: Sept. 17, 2004: Grieving Mom Heckles Laura Bush
- Arrest: September 2004: Blair Criminalizes His Critics
- Exclusion date: July 22, 2004: County Supervisor Booted from Bush Event for Wearing Hidden Kerry Shirt
- Arrest made: July 4, 2004 Charges dropped: Thursday, July 15, 2004: Homemade T-shirts that had President Bush's name with a slash through it and the words "Love America, Hate Bush" on the back.
- Incident date: Monday, March 3, 2003: 100 people marched through Crossgates Mall at noon today to protest the arrest Monday of a man who wore a peace T-shirt while he shopped.
- Arrested: Monday, March 3, 2003 Charges dropped: Thursday, March 6, 2003 Lawsuit filed: May 27, 2004: US mall backs down on T-shirt arrest
- Incident: December 9th, 2002: Secret Service Questions Student over Anti-Bush T-Shirt