From: Gary Wiltshire 

Not even close.

According to the mall officials, the two men were harassing the other
patrons.  I work in Clifton Park, NY and frequently bomb down the Northway
to visit Crossgates.  At any given time I see plenty of more offensive
material on kids shirts.  BTW, the shirts in question were sold in the
mall.

On Wed, 5 Mar 2003 14:01:37 -0500, "Richard Gauszka"
 wrote:

>If all the facts in this story are true we have a serious problem with
>personal freedom in this country.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>-------
>Man arrested for 'peace' T-shirt
>
>Tuesday, March 4, 2003 Posted: 9:52 PM EST (0252 GMT)
>
>NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A lawyer was arrested late Monday and charged with
>trespassing at a public mall in the state of New York after refusing to take
>off a T-shirt advocating peace that he had just purchased at the mall.
>
>According to the criminal complaint filed Monday, Stephen Downs was wearing
>a T-shirt bearing the words "Give Peace A Chance" that he had
just purchased
>from a vendor inside the Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York, near
>Albany.
>
>"I was in the food court with my son when I was confronted by two security
>guards and ordered to either take off the T-shirt or leave the mall," said
>Downs.
>
>When Downs refused the security officers' orders, police from the town of
>Guilderland were called and he was arrested and taken away in handcuffs,
>charged with trespassing "in that he knowingly enter(ed) or remain(ed)
>unlawfully upon premises," the complaint read.
>
>Downs said police tried to convince him he was wrong in his actions by
>refusing to remove the T-shirt because the mall "was like a private house
>and that I was acting poorly.
>
>"I told them the analogy was not good and I was then hauled off to night
>court where I was arraigned after pleading not guilty and released on my own
>recognizance," Downs told Reuters in a telephone interview.
>
>Downs is the director of the Albany Office of the state Commission on
>Judicial Conduct, which investigates complaints of misconduct against judges
>and can admonish, censure or remove judges found to have engaged in
>misconduct.
>
>Calls to the Guilderland police and district attorney, Anthony Cardona and
>to officials at the mall were not returned for comment.
>
>Downs is due back in court for a hearing on March 17.
>
>He could face up to a year in prison if convicted.
>
>
>

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