imported post
Mugenlude wrote:
I'm willing to pay for whatever permit is required to get this going. I'm all of the way down in Racine, but I'm willing to send money to someone is Madison to pay for this, and I'll try to clear my schedule to make it to the decided on date.
Planning an event of the type that requires a permit
plays into the hands of the city who can deny the permit or place bizarre limitations on the assmbly. I don't see why this is being suggested.
If you want to pay money - pay it to fund civil litigation against Madison.
Madison PD has a
published policy on their web site authorizing police officers to seize all gun carriers
regardles of whether their is reasonable suspicion of crime. Apparently with Travis, they have actually executed this policy and are prosecuting the man for conduct protected by the constitution and according to the AG memo, not within the scope of the disorderly conduct statute anyway.
Folks like Travis, or other folks who are nor in fear of this kind of rogue conduct by the City, should consider suing the city for damages and declaratory & injuctive relief - this means you need to pay money to qualified Wisconsin barred attornies to get a litigation strategy together and make this happen. Somtimes suits can be funded on a contingency basis, but not always.
GeorgiaCarry.org lawyers, one of whom is apparently a member of the Wisconisn bar, apparently has suggested on this board that people continue to carry openly in Madison and sue if they are unlawfully harassed by police - our experience around the country and so far in non-Madison Wisconsin is that open carry only becomes normalized when more people open carry and
actual lawsuits are filed against any harassment.
Again, only in a civil action do you as Plaintiffs gain some sort of control over what is happenning - and trust me, the City leaders of Madison are not going to like their officials being deposed and the taxpayers being on the hook for damages, and the city's legal bills.
My civil rights lawsuit against Pennsylvania for federal SSN privacy violations (
Stollenwerk v. Miller) cost me $48,000 which after years of litigation, I got back because I won and won under 42 USC 1983 which has an atty fee shifting provision. Thanks to the NRA and GOA, I did have some help carrying about a third of that $48,000 bill - he rest i paid on credit card or from my savings.
But then again, litigating
state law issues per se is hard to do via 42 USC 1983 and so you may have to go to state court without an atty fee shifting provision.
But somebody in Wisconsin with time, understandng of how the world works, and money needs to step forward and take the lead on this as a plaintiff or plaintiff organizer. This person would need to spend a liot of time doing this - and contact the NRA, ACLU, GOA, other groups, wealthy doners who wish to remain silent, etc. And also contact police unions to see if they oppose their officers being ordered to act unconstitutionally thus putting them and their careers at risk of attack thru civil litigation, and be willing to get your face in the newspaper and speak like a normal calm educated adult, not like a libertarian looney who can't stay on message.
I don't know who this person is in Wisconsin, but I'm sure there are some on this board who could do this and hopefully somebody steps forward to do so soon.
