http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/07/13/dozens_granted_protest_permits_67_demonstrations_get_ok_from_city/Dozens granted protest permits 67 demonstrations get OK from city
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff | July 13, 2004
Less than two weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention, the city of Boston has issued 67 permits for protests, marches, and vigils, ranging from a gathering of meditating Buddhists in Holocaust Memorial Park to an antiabortion demonstration outside Faneuil Hall.
An additional eight permits are expected to be issued shortly, including two to a Quaker group planning antiwar displays on Boston Common and at Copley Square of 800 pairs of combat boots and a plowshare made of 10,000 spent bullet casings.
Despite the wide range of causes and groups outlined in applications submitted by the deadline of 5 p.m. last Friday, some activists have complained that bureaucracy and delays in the city's permitting process made it hard to organize events.
"There were many, many problems with the process," said Urszula Masny-Latos, executive director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which has advised protesters on how to obtain permits and how to practice civil disobedience during the convention.
However, Patricia A. Malone, director of the city's Consumer Affairs and Licensing Department, which issued the permits, said her office actually cut red tape. For instance, she said, her staff faxed applications to several city agencies if more than one approval was required.
Every group that applied for a permit to rally or march got one, she added, although not necessarily in the location originally requested. Several requests to march or rally in Causeway Street, in front of the convention at the FleetCenter, were denied for security reasons.<snip>
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