George,

The recent arrest of Rich Collins, a candidate for the Virginia 57th District House seat, that occurred while he was handing out campaign literature at Shopper's World, has put on the front burner the issue of the denial of citizens' First Amendment right to freedom of expression by shopping malls and similar designated private properties. Like non-designated private properties these malls are engaged in selling goods to the public. Members of the public, not their money, should always be of primary interest. Moreover, it is unfair to make special rules for malls and similarly so-designated private stores that are not granted to non-designated private stores. All these stores have in common, selling to the public to make money.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religon, 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."

Despite the First Amendment mandate, specifically stating that Congress cannot abridge the freedom of speech and the right of peaceable assemble, the Supreme Court of the United States has decreed that a state has responsibilities for setting out the rules that create and enforce property rules. This is reminiscent of the Supreme Court's ruling in the 1896 "Plessy v. Ferguson" that said, "Separate but Equal" for black and white Americans was constitional. For nearly 60 years that decision subjectd African Americans to segregation, discriminatin and disfranchisement. The Supreme Corut was wrong in that matter and it is wrong in deferring to the individual state in this private property matter. Like Civil rights, First Amendment rights are not negotiable by either the federal or state government.

The privatization of "civil commons," to borrow a term from Harvard University Law Professor F. Michelman, or what is also known as communing space, must be challenged by the citizenry within the government and outside of the government. Citizens' rights do not cease when they enter a shopping mall parking lot. The money consumers spend while fequenting these malls is money they have earned or will earn for their labor in freedom of expression arenas, such as factories and classrooms.

Citizen U. J. Fields (this writer) calls upon the state government of Viginia and the U. S. Congress to de-privatize the privatization of communing space. Private property should be redefined or the right of citizens to express their First Amendment rights protected when on these premises. Such guarantee of freedom of expression should be posted in every mall. Community spaces such as shopping malls, many now in suburbs, where members of the public spend their money purchasing goods should not be designated as private property but as "private marketplace property."

Beyond these things, the public is encouraged to take direct action in reclaiming their right to express their First Amendment rights in shopping malls. Fifty years ago this writer along with Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and some other citizens of Montgomery launhched the Montgomery Bus Boycott with the objective of achieving justice in transportation in Montgomery. Citizens owe it to themselves and their children to oppose the infringment upon their freedom of expression by these sprawling mall that have replaced many other market places and reclaim their right to free speech in places where they spend their money. These malls do not belong only to these owners, but to the people who spend their money in them.

Furthermore, let us be fuly aware that God, not man, is the owner of all property. The Psalmist tells us that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." (Psalm 24:1). Our mandate is to obey God, not Caeser.

A word that bears some relationship to the isssue being discussed: the City of Charlottesille, VA., has authorized the establishment of a Community Chalkboard and Podium Mounument that will celebrate the idea of free speech and offer a venue for expressing that right. The monument will consist of a beautiful natural slate wall, approimately 55 feet long and 8 feet high, on which members of the public will be able to express their views, in chalk.

Inscribed on the wall will be the text of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, cited above.

Finally, I want to persoanlly commend Rich Collins for taking a stand, even in allowing himself to be arrested, on behalf of all freedom-loving people. His action may be significant in affecting a healthy resolution to the denial of freedom of speech that is currently permitted in shopping malls and similar communing spaces. To you Rich Collins I say, let the pundits and naysayaers question your motive. I say, "Right On!

Uriah J. Fields (electronic mail, May 14, 2005)