How the two were behaving may matter to you and me, but I'm not sure it matters legally.
The entrance signs said, according to one report, "wearing of apparel... likely to
provoke disturbances... is prohibited"
They don't have to actually provoke disturbances, just be likely to. That's a judgment call, but isn't it the job of mall security to make that judgment call?
And aren't they entitled to be more conservative rather than less, not having to wait until an actual disturbance occurred?
I think you're probably right that they were at least strutting them -- after all, they went there, bought them at the mall, and instead of carrying them home as most of us do with new clothes we buy, put them on there and stayed in the mall. It seems clear that their intent was to make a statement. And few people waste time and money publicly making political statements that they know aren't going to provoke at least somebody. Otherwise, what's the point?
And the simple reality is that they DID cause a disturbance. Somebody called mall security, mall security came, asked them to remove the shirts, the dad refused, the police were called, and he was arrested. In my opinion, that constitutes a disturbance.
And its not whether the t-shirts are offensive, but whether they may promote a disturbance. I mean, a T-shirt saying Sign ny T-shirt and receive free front-row tickets to the Bruce Springsteen concert" might not be offensive, but it sure would create a disturbance! |
