Petition-gatherer tossed from arts show raises ruckus

That is, until several Gainesville police officers and city employee Linda Piper, the event coordinator, showed up.

They told him he couldn’t be there. He told them he has a First Amendment right to be there. No, he doesn’t, they said, escorting him out of the show area.

Funk was not the only petition-gatherer given the boot, but he is the only one making an issue of it. Funk has contacted the American Civil…