Samantha Pena
7th period

"Black Lives Matter" inside and outside of the Court
In Las Vegas there was an African-American lawyer who insisted on wearing a 'Black Lives Matter' pin; then the judge asked her to take the pin off. Andrea Burton (the attorney) had later on settled an agreement that allows her to wear the pin in the courthouse but not in the courtroom. They agreed that if Andrea were to wear the pin in the courtroom it would be equal to a police officer to wear black tape on their badge, which the courtroom also does not allow. So Andrea took off the pin while defending her client. This is one of the many debates over the civil right movement for 'Black Lives Matter'. Many people believe the this movement is anti-police because of all of the problems we have had with this argument from the past few months. But in the word of Ms. Ballou ,"If you think that Black Lives Matter is anti-police, ask yourself if police are anti-black." I believe that this statement is very important because she makes a very valid point.  I believe that the 'Black Lives Matter' movement is very important to our american society at the moment. I disagree with the individuals who believe that the movement is anti-police because the movement is about raising awareness to the black people of america. Many people believe that is is anti-police because of the domestic violence between innocent African-Americans and police officers.  Ms. Ballou also says," In a free country , I shouldn't be afraid of the police, but I am.'Though it is true that those happenings kindled a start to the movement, there are many other things that have caused an effect on the movement. For instance, racial profiling. To some people when they see a black man or woman they automatically think that they are some sort of criminals or that they are just dangerous in general. The fact they are doing this to people who are jut innocent bystander is wrong and frankly, disgusting. The fact that there are people in this world, in this country, today still having these racist thoughts about people is wrong. I believe that Andrea ,or anyone for that matter, should be able to freely protest for anymovemetn they want. After all, is that not what the 1st Amendment on the Bill of Rights enfranchises us? The freedom religion, speech, press, the right to peacefully assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  So, the court room that made MS. Ballou take her pin off is violating the 1st amendment.
 Lawyer- Black Lives Matter