Glitter Bomb: Free Speech or an Assault?

So is “glitter bombing” protected free speech, or is it assault? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself since the incident where an LGBT activist splashed rainbow glitter on presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann at the RightOnline conservative blogger conference last June. I’ve included a link to the video down below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgr6JAcLqA

In fact, I contacted Minneapolis police about this issue and they said they would look into it. While the police did escort the activist out of the hotel, it’s apparent so many months later that this liberal lawyer won’t have to face any repercussions for her act of defiance.

So I can see why the activists have targeted several of the candidates this way, people like Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum. They’ve all come out and declared their opposition to gay marriage. I have no problem with that. The problem I see is, should this glitter bombing be allowed under the First Amendment, or should these people be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor?

Answer this question. If I threw glitter or some other object at the current president, could I expect to be arrested? I’m pretty sure that I would. So why is this different than what is being perpetrated against conservative presidential candidates?

I’ve seen a lot of analysis from people on the Internet, but nearly nothing about it on TV.  The most salient analysis I’ve run across is from a representative of GOProud.com, a conservative gay activist group. Listen to GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia, who I think explains things much better than this straight white conservative blogger. LaSalvia was there to witness the Bachmann glitter bombing as I was.

“I just don’t get this glitter thing. I mean, to me it seems like the stupidest thing in politics! And I can’t quite figure out what their message is. Somebody told me, they said, ‘glitter is the herpes of the arts and crafts, ’cause once you’ve got it you can never get rid of it.”

Later LaSalvia had this to say:

“That woman who showed up to the RightOnline with the glitter must know what a lot of people know and that is that conservative women are hotter than liberal women, and she was just trying to get a date with Michelle Bachman.”

While I will never support gay marriage or separate “gay” rights, I do support human rights. If I were to assault a person living the alternative life style, even verbally, I think I would be arrested and charged. People who have committed crimes against such people, to include the crime of murder, have gone to prison. Good! Everyone should feel secure from harassment or assault.

So why do LGBT activists think they are immune from charges of assault when they physically attack conservatives? This has happened several times and apparently they do enjoy some immunity.

If you think this is just a non-issue, consider this. What if it wasn’t glitter they were throwing, but feces and urine instead? What about acid? This is not outside the realm of possibility. During the 2008 RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota, activists went into portapotties in the city and obtained the awful stuff, which they then hurled at cops doing their jobs to secure order. Those people were arrested and charged, rightfully so!

Muslim women have had acid hurled in their faces by spurned suitors, with catastrophic and painfully disfiguring results. Horrible!

I would consider any glitter bomb as the same as an acid attack! You know these people are so filled with hate for these conservatives that if they could get away with using acid, they would use it.

You have the right to protest, blog, write letters to the editor, etc. You don’t have the right to assault the candidates, left or right. This is intimidation, and it wouldn’t be tolerated if it occurred to a candidate of the liberal democratic party. It should never be tolerated, in my view.