Sad but True

Sung to tune of "America the Beautiful". From Townhall.Com.

Did I mention how much I miss the Muppets?

Singing In Our Public Buildings

A friend of mine is involved in an organization that puts on a weekly conference every year for teens to learn more about government called City on the Hill. During this conference they visit the California State Capital. This year, they decided to sing the national anthem and "God Bless America" in the rotunda. Sergeant-at-arms and California Highway Patrol officers (we don't have state troopers, the CHP takes on this role) entered the rotunda to stop the singing because they did not have a permit. Now, my first reaction to this was "duh, you're supposed to get a permit before singing on public property." Then I thought, why should we need the government to give us permission to sing PATRIOTIC songs on land that belongs to us, the people. I understand the need to not have groups coming in selling CDs or disturbing the peace, but it seems to me that those could be handled as separate issues. What do other Mod-Bloggers think? Should citizens be required to get a permit to sing patriotic songs in a publicly-owned place?