The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America: clear.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Basic rule of thumb for filming in public places: straightforward.

Legally, it’s pretty much always okay to take photos in a public place as long as you’re not physically interfering with traffic or police operations. As Bert Krages, an attorney who specializes in photography-related legal problems and wrote Legal Handbook for Photographers, says, “The general rule is that if something is in a public place, you’re entitled to photograph it.” What’s more, though national-security laws are often invoked when quashing photographers, Krages explains that “the Patriot Act does not restrict photography; neither does the Homeland Security Act.”

Likelihood that this woman assaulting a camera operator at yesterday’s combination Big Union/Democratic Party/Commie rally really understands either of the above: nil (language warning).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3049ny1JczA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Sadly typical at this point.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: Via Doug Ross, who also has a fairly graphic comparison of just how big the aforementioned rally was.  Hey, remember the days when we kept getting told over and over again how great progressives were at drawing a crowd?  Yeah, what happened with that?