Today Ward One Councilman Seth Yurdin called on the City Administration to revise recently issued regulations that, according to news reports, would require any protester or any other person seeking to publicly express their opinion at the upcoming U.S. Conference of mayors to register with the city, be limited to certain designated areas, and be subject to search by police.
Said Yurdin, “Recognizing that some restrictions of freedom of speech are of supported under the U.S. Constitution, limits on free speech such as ‘protest pens’ have only been permitted when there is a real threat of violence – such as the threat of riots like those occurring in Seattle at the WTO event and at extremely large-scale events like the national political conventions and appearances of the President.”
Said Yurdin, “At least from news accounts to-date, it does not appear that any such violent protests are slated for Providence. While the Providence event appears that it will be well-attended, it is simply nowhere near the scale of large national events that have supported these restrictions.”
“Sadly, there is much evidence to suggest that these types of regulation can be used as an instrument for stifling and discouraging freedom of expression. In fact, it was under the Bush administration that their scope and use was widely expanded. The City of Providence should avoid implementing such measures unless they are clearly justified by the circumstances.”
In addition to calling for an immediate review and change of the policy, Yurdin has prepared legislation to be introduced and heard before the City Council on expedited basis. The legislation will provide the City’s Department of Public Safety with clear and detailed guidelines on how best to ensure public safety, while at the same time protecting the rights of public expression.
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For additional documents see:
“Protestor Registration Form” - http://www.providenceri.com/government/Protestor%20Registration%20Form_FINAL.pdf
Note: Administered by the Traffic Engineering Department
