The Bill of Rights applies to all: man, woman, white, black … and clown.
Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and Utah recognize Juggalos — the painted-faced fans of the rap group Insane Clown Posse — as members of a gang.
Just because a guy or gal likes to dress like a clown and spray the working man’s soda doesn’t make him or her a threat to society.
The First Amendment guarantees the right to freely associate with others. The government could intervene if they see a compelling state interest. If Juggalos were murdering little old ladies and torturing kittens, the government could intervene.
But their actions must also be content neutral.
Metalheads mosh, “Rocky Horror Picture Show” fanatics dress in bizarre outfits and soccer hooligans beat the piss out of one another.
Yet they remain unmarked.
ICP fans use the music as an opportunity to gather with like-minded individuals.
Through discriminatory governmental classification, mere music fans are branded the same as the Latin Kings, the Aryan Brotherhood and the Crips.
Seriously?
Spraying bullets aimlessly and spraying Faygo at a concert doesn’t seem to equate.
Distant observation by Big Brother and the subsequent gang designation stifles the group’s ability to express its message.
By labeling the fan base as a gang, the government has created an entity it must now monitor and govern.
Every reach the government makes into private life is one inch closer to an ironclad grip on your inalienable rights.
