Artists’ rights

Re “Vietnamese protest art exhibit,” Jan. 18

The Vietnamese American community in Santa Ana is within the rights granted it by the 1st Amendment when it protests the exhibit showing a young girl wearing a representation of Vietnam’s flag standing next to a bust of Ho Chi Minh.

The problem is that the city closed the exhibit because of the protest. In effect, the protesters have stepped on the 1st Amendment rights of the artists.

In our country, we are guaranteed freedom of expression. Anybody is free to protest the exhibit, but they do not have the right to insist that the exhibit close because it is uncomfortable to them. Freedom of expression exists for both sides.

Milton B. Rouse

Dana Point