http://channels.isp.netscape.com/whatsnew/default.jsp?story=20061017-1307In this blue state-red state nation of ours, a woman from Athens, Ga., is definitely in the blue state camp. To tell the world her opinions, she did what many do--slapped a bumper sticker on her car. It read: "I'm Tired of All the BUSH**." Denise Grier, 47, was given a $100 ticket last March after a DeKalb County police officer spotted the profane, anti-Bush bumper sticker.
The Associated Press reports that even though the courts threw out the ticket in April--the state's lewd decal law was declared unconstitutional in 1990--Grier has now filed a lawsuit in federal court against the county and its officials. Working with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, she is not only seeking damages from DeKalb County for emotional distress, but also a declaration in federal court that her bumper sticker is considered constitutionally protected speech. According to the lawsuit, Grier says she is "uncertain and insecure regarding her right to display her bumper sticker in DeKalb County."
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Grier, who is employed as a nurse at Emory University and other hospitals, also is seeking punitive damages against the DeKalb police officer who gave her the ticket because he "acted with reckless disregard" of her rights, AP reports of the lawsuit. "And I being a law-abiding citizen of the United States have the right to express my opinion," she told WAGA TV. "Whether you agree with me or disagree with me doesn't matter. You have the right to express your opinion, too." The bumper sticker remains on her car.
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