The Day Free Speech Died in Winter Park!

As I sat in the Winter Park Commissioner's meeting this past Monday night, I felt history was being made.  I envisioned history books writing about this very night, the day free speech, the right to protest, picket and exercise one's  First Amendment rights were exterminated in favor of peace, harmony and tranquility in one's home and neighborhood. I heard how Winter Park strives to protect it's citizens and provide a peaceful atmosphere all under the guise of stripping away a person's right to stand up and defend civil rights issues.

I thought about how lovely this all sounds to want peace, harmony and tranquility and at the same time thought about the blood that was shed for our freedom.  When there are wicked laws in the land, there can be no peace, when there is an injustice against the rights of another human being there can be no tranquility.  And those of us that know a wicked law is taking place and violating the rights of human beings, we cannot be silent.

The irony of it all is the fact that Winter Park just named their park after Martin Luther King Jr., a man that fought for civil rights for his fellow man.  What I witnessed was the uttermost mockery of what Martin Luther King Jr.  stood for.  I thought back on the marches, the boycotts of buses, everything to bring an end to the injustice of the treatment of black Americans.  I thought, what would this city do if those very same protests and acts of civil disobedience were going on today in Winter Park?  Would they have slapped a 50 foot buffer zone and forbidden any type of peaceful protest against the civil outcry of injustice?

The City Commissioner's of Winter Park have shown the public their real side though, they moved  quick to protect one whom Planned Parenthood of Florida has high hopes for, Jenna Tosh.,the new CEO of Planned Parenthood Orlando.  She is their rising star to bring legitimacy to this business that survives on the bloody massacre of the innocent, 

This is what this whole controversy is over.  Concerned Christian's went in front of Mrs.Tosh's home and prayed, sang and exposed (Ephesians 5:11) what she does for a living.  Within two weeks the City Commissioners had drafted up an Emergency Ordinance outlawing picketing and protesting in their community with a 50 foot buffer zone added in the mix.  The ordinance is broad and far reaching, leaving it open for possible legal challenges.

One wonders if the resident would have been a banker being picketed by Occupy Wall Streeters if the   Commissioners would have jumped to their aid..  I don't think so.  This ordinance is nothing less then one of the most politically correct ordinances I've seen in a long time.

On top of that, one of the City Commissioner's, Sarah Sprinkel, attends the same church  as Jenna Tosh,  the First Congregational Church of Winter Park, so to say there is a conflict of interest here would be a minor understatement.

This past Monday night, at the final voting of the unjust ordinance, one could see the color blue scattered throughout the city hall, this was the color of solidarity for Jenna Tosh.  Her church came in support of her and this ordinance disguised as peace, harmony and tranquility.   While I looked at the blue around the room and listened to her pastor, Reverend Karen Barker-Duncan,  stand up and defend her parishioner and what her parishioner does, my thoughts skipped to the churches that sang a little louder while the Nazi trains drove by with screams of help from the Jewish people being transported to the concentration camps.  But now is a different time, but much the same thing, here in this room were folks in blue singing a little louder while babies are led to the slaughter mercilously at the very place Tosh manages, and they as "church goers" were and are defending her. All the while, the true love of Christ would be to encourage Tosh to leave this business which violates and destroys human beings in the womb, not to support her in this bloodshed.

As it came down to the final vote, Mayor Kenneth Bradley defended the First Amendment and made it very clear he would not be voting on this ordinance, HE WAS THE LONE VOTE, to that he must be commended.

The other four commissioners joined together and all gave a thumbs up for peace, harmony and tranquility in their city; usurping free speech and the First Amendment!  

Most troubling of all was Commissioner Tom McMacken's talk on why he would be voting for the ordinance, "The sanctity of the home is the one place you go to get away from everything, we are a city of homes.  I have sworn to uphold the constitution, but I've also looked everyone of my neighbors in their eyes and said I'm going to do what's in the best interest of Winter Park.  To be quite honest, if that's constitutional or not constitutional I will still do it because these are my neighbors and they deserve protection of any type of intrusion."  Commissioner McMacken made it very clear that he was willing to overlook the constitution in this situation.
  
Yes, this was a night I won't soon forget, the day free speech died in Winter Park.
God help us!