LTTE St. Pete Times: Proposal to limit protests is a new low

[teach1st]

7/23: Several letters to the St. Petersburg Times about "free speech zones" in the city.

Proposal to limit protests is a new low for our city

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/23/Opinion/Proposal_to_limit_pro.shtml

After 20 years in St. Petersburg, I think the city has reached a new low with the proposal to be considered by its City Council that would designate "free speech zones" in the BayWalk and Dome areas. Not only would the approval of this proposal be a violation of our rights to free speech and assembly, guaranteed by the First Amendment, but it would also be an indication of the city's values in its apparent attempt to satisfy the demands of its big-money investors.

Since before the invasion of Iraq, a war we now know to be based on lies and in which tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens and nearly 1,000 U.S. soldiers have perished, I and many like-minded citizens have been peacefully demonstrating at various locations in Pinellas County and weekly at BayWalk in downtown St. Petersburg. We have always accomplished this without disturbing or putting at risk pedestrians or vehicle traffic. It has been our policy at BayWalk to have open, respectful communication with the Police Department.

It has always been our goal to educate the public on issues of peace and alternatives to war. Our hope has been that the public, when presented with the truth, would reject the Bush administration's reckless path to war. As we read in nationwide polls, this is becoming a reality.

We should all question the council's consideration of this proposal and take very seriously what we would lose in spirit and reputation as a city that legislates the deterioration of its citizens' civil rights and robs us all of our right to learn from each other in accessable public areas.

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[Catfight]

1. You'd think with all the old people, they'd respect the right to protest.

Florida is one screwed up place, what do you expect from a Bush.

[teach1st]

2. St. Pete is growing younger

We're not the senior ghetto we once were. We are, despite having one of the country's great liberal newspapers, quite conservative.

[teach1st]

3. 7/23 St. Petersburg Times editorial about the issue

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/23/Opinion/Censorship_and_the_ci.shtml

Someone on the St. Petersburg City Council should get a copy of the First Amendment and read it. They obviously haven't glanced at it in a long time. How else to explain the censorious suggestions that keep percolating among council members and city staff?

In March, the council considered penalizing bands and promoters for their use of profanities during concerts in public parks. Earlier this month, at least one council member implied that Clear Channel Broadcasting might lose city business if it didn't clean up The Monsters, a locally broadcast morning show known for its hosts' use of racially offensive terms.

Now, the constitutional outrage du jour is a proposal to bar protesters from two key city sidewalks during popular hours.

Council members don't seem to understand that they don't have the authority to wall off challenging and uncomfortable ideas and words in their city. Our right to freedom of expression means that people sometimes will be offended. It also means that businesses and pedestrians sometimes will be inconvenienced by others who use the public sidewalks to promote a political message. This is the price we pay for living in a free society.

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[struggle4progress]

4. Unless Americans insist, in practice, on their rights ...

... to free speech everywhere, these rights will be lost.

It's idiotic to waste breath discussing "free speech zones."

Ignore the damn zones.