THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE

5/24/2011

Victory: National Park Agrees to Rutherford Demand to Respect Free Speech Rights After Ranger Ejects Visitor Over Ron Paul Decal

BLACKSBURG, S.C. — Responding to The Rutherford Institute's demand that the First Amendment rights of visitors to the national parks be respected, the Superintendent of Kings Mountain National Military Park has promised to ensure that there will be no repeat of the incident involving Jack Faw, who was ordered by a park ranger to leave the park because of a decal on his car promoting a political organization associated with Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). "I want to assure you and Mr. Faw that we take his constitutional right of freedom of expression seriously, and have taken steps to ensure this experience is not repeated," wrote Superintendent Erin Broadbent. Broadbent also shared that she planned a refresher training session for park personnel on the proper implementation of park policies and regulations affecting individual rights of expression.

Whitehead's letter to Kings Mountain National Military Park is available here.

"This is a victory for the First Amendment," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Hopefully, the National Park Service will set a standard for other government agencies that routinely undermine our constitutional rights."

Jack Faw is a frequent visitor to Kings Mountain National Military Park in Blacksburg, S.C., which marks the site where three of his ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. Faw visited the park on May 6, 2011, en route to his home in Virginia. Soon after arriving and in the midst of his tour through the exhibits, Faw was approached by a park ranger who asked Faw to come into the ranger's office. The ranger informed Faw that he must remove his car from the parking lot because it displayed a political decal that is not allowed in National Parks. Faw had a translucent decal on his car's rear window promoting "Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty," an organization dedicated to reestablishing and furthering the principles embodied in the United States Constitution.

Although Faw protested that he had a right to display the decal and asserted it was not causing any disturbance, the ranger insisted that the car be removed, and Mr. Faw felt compelled to comply with the order. He then reported the incident to The Rutherford Institute, which sent a letter to Superintendent Broadbent on his behalf. Insisting that National Park employees be properly educated about basic constitutional precepts, attorney Whitehead's letter to the superintendent reminded her that visitors to National Parks do not forfeit their First Amendment rights to speech and expression. Indeed, noted Whitehead, Faw's political messages on his vehicle appear to be wholly consistent with and allowable under the National Park Service's regulations concerning expressive activities within National Parks. Furthermore, not only is the display of a political message on a vehicle unquestionably protected by the First Amendment, but a federal appeals court recently ruled that citizens' free speech rights apply within the confines of National Parks.