Despicable!! Ass. att gen. of Michigan attacking college student!

[hudkina]

The guy can have an opinion and be impartial. It's no different from a lawyer defending a guy who molested and murdered a little girl. He doesn't have to agree with who he is defending...

What we should worry about is the whole notion behind "Behave yourself or be unemployed", especially when it comes to our behavior outside of work.

[gdogslim]

^ Obviously you haven't read the story.

Obviously you have zero clue as to what I have or have not read.

[pffft]

The guy can have an opinion and be impartial. It's no different from a lawyer defending a guy who molested and murdered a little girl. He doesn't have to agree with who he is defending...

What we should worry about is the whole notion behind "Behave yourself or be unemployed", especially when it comes to our behavior outside of work.

Stalking and threatening a college student goes far beyond having "an opinion"...

[hudkina]

Writing a blog isn't considered stalking, and even picketing outside his home isn't technically illegal as long as he was on public land and didn't have a restraining order.

Also, this case has nothing to do with the guy's ability to perform at his job. It's his job to be able to defend ideas and people who he may disagree with. If for some reason he can't do that, then he should be dismissed, but otherwise he shouldn't necessarily be fired for exercising his free speech, no matter how poor his judgement may have been.

[pffft]

Following a college students' friends to a party in order to track down the student, heckling him at meetings -- these are all indications of poor judgment, and judgment is exactly what we as taxpayers of the state of Michigan are paying him for.

[John]

I receieved this e-mail yesterday:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear supporters:

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has gained national attention by blogging and gay-bashing student body president of the University of Michigan, Chris Armstrong. And while it was announced today that Shirvell has taken a personal leave of absence amidst this controversy, we're not satisfied.

Shirvell has said he is "raising awareness" of what Armstrong stands for, referring to him as a "radical homosexual activist" and "Satan's representative."

Equality Michigan Action Network calls on our supporters to now raise awareness and send a message to the Attorney General of the State of Michigan, Mike Cox.

Especially in this time when our young people are taking their own lives at an alarming rate, often as a result of bullying, we need to send our message of fairness and equality to the Attorney General's office.
Freedom of speech is one thing … But hate speech and bullying cross the line. No attorney supported by our tax dollars should be allowed to operate in this manner!

Email Attorney General Mike Cox and tell him Andrew Shirvell must to go!

Please copy and paste the text below in an email addressed to miag@michigan.gov and info@equalitymi.org:
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
YOUR EMAIL

Dear Attorney General Cox:
As a supporter of equal rights for all in the state of Michigan, I insist that you fire Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell immediately. His recent actions against U-M student assembly president Chris Armstrong have proven his bias towards the LGBT community and we feel this disables him from fairly representing this population in a court of law. Additionally, it appears that Shirvell violated a PPO and this is beyond proper conduct for an assistant attorney general. It is illegal. I look forward to your swift action regarding this crucial matter.

[Al Publican]

I thought I heard mention of this by Shirvell on CNN in passing. If so, Westboro is the zealot outfit that demonstrates at funerals for military personnel.
Imagine coming in on a Monday at work and asking Shirvell how his weekend went.

[Gistok]

The guy can have an opinion and be impartial. It's no different from a lawyer defending a guy who molested and murdered a little girl. He doesn't have to agree with who he is defending...

What we should worry about is the whole notion behind "Behave yourself or be unemployed", especially when it comes to our behavior outside of work.

What part of... HE'S A BIGOT and BIGOTRY SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED as State or Federal Prosecutors..... don't you understand Hudkina???

Sure there's slimeball private lawyers... and that's not against the law... but when you're DEFENDING the law.... that's another matter...

[Meddle]

There's another column on Sunday's DetNews site that I haven't read on this tool.

[pffft]

Here you go... the Sunday Detroit News column about it...with mention of Westboro.

http://detnews.com/article/20101003/OPINION03/10030302/

[John]

The News has run different editorials on Sunday and again today:

Neal Rubin: Commentary: Anti-gay blogger is out of control

Laura Berman: Free speech or harassment?

[jcole]

The operative word here is essentially. I don't think Rubin is saying he IS a member of Westboro, just that he acts like one.

Andrew Shirvell, 30, embarked on a hasty leave of absence last week after his harassment of Chris Armstrong became national news. He managed to sneak largely under the radar, though, when he essentially aligned himself with the loons from Westboro Baptist Church a few months earlier.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101003/...#ixzz11OXUcBui

[Melocoton]

That article basically says he's as loony as the Westboro Church people, not affiliated with them.

Here you go... the Sunday Detroit News column about it...with mention of Westboro.

http://detnews.com/article/20101003/OPINION03/10030302/

Again, though, there's no free speech issue here, unless you think the first amendment was written to protect people's right to never face any consequences for their stupidity.

[Whitehouse]

I thought I heard mention of this by Shirvell on CNN in passing. If so, Westboro is the zealot outfit that demonstrates at funerals for military personnel.
Imagine coming in on a Monday at work and asking Shirvell how his weekend went.

Ding dong!!



Looks a lot like him.Did he just pass the demo and made an impromptu sign at the scene?

Also a classic at meetings of the WBC: signs that punks the church! Two on the right.


[[... but now that he has time off, where is he?? I would be the scoop of the century if he was caught with a gay lover. )



Edit:
On second thought...
All the signs are punking him! It was a one-person demo from the start.

[ragnarok1981]

Andrew Shirvell is what you get when you have people go to a school like Ave Maria. Injecting religion into a law school is just a recipe for disaster. As for why Cox won't get rid of him, well if you look at past stories there was mention of Shirvell being one of the leaders of his reelection campaign in the last election, so they obviously have a closer relationship than just coworkers. [[and no not implying sexual relationship)

[Jimaz]

The News has run different editorials on Sunday and again today:

Neal Rubin: Commentary: Anti-gay blogger is out of control

Laura Berman: Free speech or harassment?

^ Links repaired ^

[mikeinmotown]

I know what you mean. I really dont like the lifestyle that heterosexuals lead, but I tolerate it. Even though they constantly push their kids at you like you have never seen or heard of anyone procreating before. I even respect some of them, even though they are sometimes a little fruity. I will even agree that heteros are basically human beings [[although I have my doubts about some of you).

I appreciate your anger over this issue, as it shouldn't matter what the sexual orientation of either gentleman is - stalking is stalking.

Coming from Mike Cox's office, this comes as no surprise. He hates Gay people and is still pouting that Snyder got the nod instead of him.

I agree with you. We have to tolerate straights, gays, transgenders and what ever else is out there.

[mikeinmotown]

This guy is a totally gay and hates himself for it. He thinks that by attacking gay people he will make himself straight. Come on his name is Andrew. How gay is that. One of these days he will be arrested for having sex with a man in a public bathroom. Remember the racist Storm Thurman. He hated blacks then it turned out he was banging his black maid and produced a child. Racist bastards. Both of them.

[mikeinmotown]

Andrew Shirvell is what you get when you have people go to a school like Ave Maria. Injecting religion into a law school is just a recipe for disaster. As for why Cox won't get rid of him, well if you look at past stories there was mention of Shirvell being one of the leaders of his reelection campaign in the last election, so they obviously have a closer relationship than just coworkers. [[and no not implying sexual relationship)

I think Miky and Andrew are banging. If you ever met Cox in public you would see how of a girly man he is, small feet and hands. Remember Cox was banging his employee a few years ago and his wife stayed with him. How honorable.

[Hypestyles]

this is highly insensitive, especially in light of the Rutgers student suicide recently..

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

If I were still in Michigan, I 'd be standing in front of his house with a sign declaring him a self-hating CLOSET CASE! And a video cam. Just exercising my first amendment rights.

[Kevgoblue]

this is highly insensitive, especially in light of the Rutgers student suicide recently..

Well if the guy had any level of sensitivity about him [[i.e. wasn't a F#*in' D bag ) he wouldn't be out on some hypothetical witchhunt to begin with.
God, I hope he gets fired. How does he profess to be able to do his job without some type of obvious bias? Time for the state to rescind his job offer.

[President Sekou]

This is all really interesting. I think he is on leave now because he had that PPO filed against him thus making a review for conduct necessary, otherwise he wouldn't have ever been fired. If you watch Mike Cox on CNN its like he was almost giving Armstrong low key instructions to file a PPO.

Funny thing is despite how ludicrous or bigoted his off work activities are until he proved himself incapable of impartially representing someone who is homosexual or underperformed in his duties in any way as an Assistant Attorney General he shouldn't be fired. Its a slippery slope letting employers use off work activities to determine whether or not you keep your job. If he is to be fired for running his blog, then who is to say that you will not be fired for posting something stupid here, facebook, or twitter?

Free speech is free speech even when you don't agree with what is said. And what is bigoted to some is not to others. Besides, its not like anyone is forcing anyone to read that nonsense, the man is clearly a loon, so why treat his little blog and his little protest as anything of consequence?

[Whitehouse]

Slightly related, there's a massive court case comping up this week. The Westboro Baptist Church will be judged by SCOTUS!!

The Supreme Court's 2010-2011 term gets under way next week, and the justices are wasting no time in tackling a case that has the potential to redraw the boundaries of free speech under the First Amendment.
On Oct. 6, the court will hear arguments in a highly charged case known as Snyder v. Phelps.
It sets a grieving father who lost his son in Iraq against religious protesters who picketed near the fallen soldier's funeral. The father claims emotional distress and says such demonstrations should not be allowed; the protesters say they were protected under the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly tenets of the First Amendment.
The drama perhaps couldn’t feature a more vilified band of provocateurs – the infamous Phelps family of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., known for their protests at military funerals, where they display signs sporting slogans like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "Don’t Pray for the USA.” They say the signs convey their belief that American soldiers' deaths are God’s punishment for the country’s tolerance of homosexuality. They also speak out against the Catholic Church.
While most people are deeply offended by the Phelpses’methods and message, both may be protected under the First Amendment, even though their activities took place near a funeral where the attendees could not simply leave because they found the speech hurtful.
The case has gotten a lot of attention from First Amendment scholars and has also generated an outpouring of support for the grieving father, Albert Snyder. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, 42 U.S. senators and 48 states and the District of Columbia are just some of the groups that have filed briefs in his favor. When an appeals court ordered Snyder to pay about $16,000 of the Phelpses’ legal fees, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly stepped up to make sure he had enough money to cover it.
“A lot of people have an understandable visceral reaction against this speech, but the First Amendment often protects speech that is vile,” says Eugene Volokh, a professor at UCLA School of Law and a First Amendment scholar who submitted a brief to the Supreme Court supporting the Phelpses’ position in court.

[gazhekwe]

If it were just the blog, I would agree it was protected activity. However, he has crossed the line into harassing activities calculated to inspire hate and violence against this young man simply because of his sexual orientation. That crosses the line into the territory of yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater.

Once it came out that he is an Assistant Attorney General for Michigan, his activities damage his credibility in office and begin to call into question the integrity of the office of the AG. Examining 'conduct unbecoming' is imperative. I can't tell if this has been done or if Cox is hiding behind the First Amendment.

To make it crystal clear -- an anonymous person is picketing someone, stalking them and carrying threatening hateful signs in their presence. Freedom of speech, maybe. I think the victim would have to complain. THEN it becomes public knowledge that this official is a representative of the State of Michigan AG office, the office charged with administering the state law and upholding the Constitutions of the state and the US. Should the employer ask him to stop and if he does not, take disciplinary action?

What if it was an employee of the Michigan Civil Rights Department? What if they were picketing a mosque?