Activists Arraigned for Protesting Speaker Pelosi

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

A March 18 act of civil disobedience by Lt. Dan Choi, who faces discharge under the provisions of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), the military’s anti-gay policy, had generated headlines, provoked controversy, and sparked recollections of the days of gay activism when civil disobedience was more typically part of the program.

But that same day saw another act of civil disobedience carried out by activists pressing for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that has been debated, promoted, and promised for years.

Tired of waiting for promises about ENDA to be honored, equality organization GetEQUAL organized two simultaneous protests on March 18. Whereas Lt. Choi drew the eyes of the world to the plight of gay and lesbian soldiers forced to lie about their sexuality in order to stay in the service by handcuffing himself to the fence outside the White House, GetEQUAL activists staged sit-ins at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Washington, D.C. and San Francisco offices, and demanded that Pelosi agree to bring a version of ENDA that includes trans protections to a vote by month’s end. Four female activists were arrested.

A press release sent out by GetEQUAL April 6 announced that activists would gather outside the District of Columbia Superior Courthouse that same day, which was the date the four arrested activists were expected to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges.

"Tired of false promises to pass ENDA, which would provide basic employment protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the four women refused to leave the office without a guarantee that the bill would be brought to a vote," the release recounted. "They were ultimately arrested for unlawful entry and face arraignment today on misdemeanor charges."

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104251

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"They were ultimately arrested for unlawful entry and face arraignment today on misdemeanor charges."

Your subtitle reads: What ever happened to Free Speech and the Right to Assemble?

So I have to ask... do those rights also allow unlawful entry?

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Did they enter said buildings or did they remain in the public right of way?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Your subtitle reads: What ever happened to Free Speech and the Right to Assemble?

So I have to ask... do those rights also allow unlawful entry?

Since when is entering a public office during normal business hours unlawful entry?

[PhiLandShiR 18]

Since when is entering a public office during normal business hours unlawful entry?

Did you actually read the post???

"the four women refused to leave the office"

that makes it unlawful...

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Did you actually read the post???

"the four women refused to leave the office"

that makes it unlawful...

That doesn't sound like illegal entry, more like trespassing, or obstruction.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

That doesn't sound like illegal entry, more like trespassing, or obstruction.

Not "illegal entry", unlawful entry.

Illegal Entry is what happens every day on the US/Mexico Border.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Not "illegal entry", unlawful entry.

Illegal Entry is what happens every day on the US/Mexico Border.

Doesn't illegal and unlawful mean the same thing?

illegal: prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules

unlawful: not lawful; illegal

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Doesn't illegal and unlawful mean the same thing?

illegal: prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules

unlawful: not lawful; illegal

They "almost" mean the same thing.

I've always been taught that "unlawful" = doing something without permission. Where as "illegal" = doing something that is forbidden.

[PhiLandShiR 18]

They "almost" mean the same thing.

I've always been taught that "unlawful" = doing something without permission. Where as "illegal" = doing something that is forbidden.

Sooo.... doing something that is unlawful is not always illegal but doing something that is illegal, is always unlawful??