Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/03/25/man-costumed-as-the-joker-arre.html
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Want a new traditional holiday? Cuz this is how they start.
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Guy Putnam Day.
works for me!
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“protective or medical masks”
as in protection from facial recognition software?
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It seems like the obvious defense argument is that there was no intent to conceal identity, which is necessary for this charge. If he wanted to conceal his identity, he could have gone with any random face-covering, but he expressly put effort into imitating the appearance of a popular cultural character. And I’d also try to argue that makeup isn’t a mask, but the intent must be proven by the state.
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We have that law in South Carolina. Back during the Clown Scourge, I remember reading that it was originally intended as an anti-Klan statute.
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I would imagine that might run into Second Amendment issues. It would be kind of bananas to interpret the Constitution to mean you can carry a rifle in public but not a sword. (But most American gun policy is bananas so who knows.)
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No exception for religion, so a niqab or burqa would be banned? Pretty sure that’s not constitutional.
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Thank goodness the good folks of Virginia are protected from such mask-wearing hooligans.
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His license plate:
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I’ve poked around a bit, and tried to find a booking photo without the makeup, and don’t seem to find one (anyone else?).
If this is all they have, I feel I should laud them for such a fine example of police work. Alphonse Bertillion would be proud. /s
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He was armed with a “sword” in public, which apparently alarmed residents. But they haven’t charged him with that
That’s because they have strict Zorro tolerance laws.
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Yeah, it’s apparently legal to open carry a sword there. This is the perfect example of why people don’t like open carry laws - when someone who is “off” is carrying around a weapon, there’s no legal recourse, unless the police start making up laws or misapplying them in order to get the guy. Make-up clearly isn’t a mask under the state law, but the guy obviously made them nervous and there was fuck all they could do about it legally.
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Actually that has been tried, but doesn’t fly. 2nd Amendment has been specifically interpreted to apply to firearms. This is why butterfly knives and such are commonly banned in a lot of places.
Thankfully, the 2nd Amendment hasn’t been interpreted to allow people to have weapons generally, only guns.
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And that’s a violation of the first amendment.
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Pretty much anything can be used as a weapon, though.
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Winchester, Va. is full on rural Trumpville, U.S.A. Apple orchards, farms, cattle, and the like. Also home to some high tech companies and boutique spook shops that went for cheap properties and blast zone free shop fronts outside of DC. A clash of cultures is there where the cityfolk BMW set meet the Farm Use truck set. And to matters worse you have this:
“Del. Dave LaRock, R-Loudoun, introduced the bill when Winchester County, which borders his House district, became an opioid hotspot. He said he is confident the bill will pass the House and eventually become law.”
Prob not the first joker we will see coming from that part of Virginia.
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Makeup huh? Hopefully that’s an add-on offense like carrying tools while breaking-and-entering that would otherwise be legal.
