Another, "What the f...! Las Cruces, New Mexico!"

The First Amendment is probably the most important amendment in our Bill of Rights. The foundation of our existance as a republic are those rights listed in this amendment. None dare say I do not believe in nor support the First Amendment. The right of a newspaper to be open to unlimited ideas and public discourse is essential to a free state. But, there should be some civic responsibility involved. Especially when a potential problem is known by the editor and spelled out to the editor.

Recently at the Las Cruces Public Schools District Spelling Bee, the only local daily newspaper, the Las Cruces Sun-News sent its photographer, Norm Dettlaff, to take photos of the event held at the local Onate Public High School. In New Mexico, the newspapers do not have to ask parents permission to take pictures of minor children and publish them. Newspapers in New Mexico do not have to honor parents requests to not publish the photos of their children.

The New Mexico state law allows the Editor to decide and if he is an asshole (in this case it was a 'he' - Jim Lawitz) he will publish the pictures. The pictures in question were not published in the newspaper, but were put on the 'Buy Photos' section of the Sun-News website. The photographer took dozens of pictures and only six, yes, 6, photos of the whole event were posted on the 'Buy Photos.' The one Editor Lawitz was asked to not publish is there for some reason only known to him. Now, no family member will buy the photo, so that leaves the photo purchase available for perverts and others up to no good.

The photographer was up to tricks as he took a special interest in pointing his camera at my family and me. Dettlaff knew better than to talk to me, but a parent reported that Dettlaff was asking questions about my minor child after the event. For business, or pleasure?

Of course the school district has no policies or procedures to protect the children from belligerent photographers acting on their bosses behalf.