Protest ban is protested
Animal activists vow to keep on demonstrating, and they may sue S.L.
Jason Rose of the Utah Primate Freedom Project and others, including some council members, worry that the ordinance may infringe on residents' free-speech rights.
"We're considering our options whether to sue before being arrested or be arrested and then sue," Rose said Thursday. "Any abridgment on freedom of speech you have to be very careful with. It's the First Amendment not the second or third or fourth, not that those are any less important but this is the first."
The group has protested in front of the homes of University of Utah researchers since 2005 in opposition to research involving animals. At the request of Mayor Rocky Anderson's administration, the City Council on Tuesday voted 5-2 to ban demonstrations within 100 feet of a residence when the protest is aimed at someone living there.
"It's really an anti-harassment issue, not a free-speech issue," said Councilman Dave Buhler, a mayoral candidate who voted in favor of the ordinance. "Nobody's saying you can't say whatever you want."
But Councilman Sren Simonsen, who voted against the new ordinance, said Thursday that he has lingering concerns about it.
"There are some free-speech issues," he said.
Before the vote, Anderson's chief of staff, Sam Guevara, wrote in a letter to the council that city attorneys are confident the ban is constitutionally sound because it imposes regulations on the time, place and manner of protests rather than banning them. He cited a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a similar ordinance in Brookfield, Wis.
But Simonsen also questions whether the new rule will have unintended consequences, including sending protesters down the street.
"All that we've done with this ordinance is we've said, 'You can't protest within 100 feet of this house,' which just pushes people beyond the 100-foot line and may create more of a problem for the neighbors," he said.
Council members approved the ordinance after a closed-door session with their attorneys. Such sessions are permitted under state law as part of attorney-client privilege. But Simonsen said there were a number of issues raised in that meeting that went unresolved, and he was surprised by the vote, which he believed could have been postponed to a later meeting.
Rose agreed that the ordinance passed more quickly than his group expected, leaving them unsure of their next move. But he said he sees a court battle ahead.
He said he did not feel guilty for neighborhood protests because he believes the researchers should be willing to stand behind their work. "We do feel that people should be held accountable for their actions," he said.
Comments
- Canal breaks, causes landslide in Logan 1:07 p.m.
- Reptile Lou won't eat 1:06 p.m.
- Three injured in South Ogden shooting 1:05 p.m.
- Upsets at Saturday's State Am 12:27 p.m.
- Luxury home market stalls 12:02 p.m.
- Kirk Douglas classic on DVD 11:38 a.m.
- Zion fire moving southeast 11:36 a.m.
- More school-money than expected 11:24 a.m.
- Virginia 'Freedman's' project done 11:12 a.m.
- Teen relive Mormon trek 11:12 a.m.
- Jazz brass debate Millsap match
- LDS seminary principal arrested
- 2 men cited on LDS plaza
- Jazz finances not quite so bleak
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- HBO defends U. logo use in 'Love'
- Cash for Clunkers to get rolling soon
- Utahns among Texans' investors
- Jazz rookies quiet Thunder youngsters
- 10 years after the flood
- LDS seminary principal arrested
262 - Jazz brass debate Millsap match
170 - Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
141 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
140 - 2 men cited on LDS plaza
127 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
124 - Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
99 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Letters: Single-payer system best
75 - Services bids farewell to Jackson
70
As more and more dads are put out of work in this economy, I've been...
The photographs are mysterious, brooding, dark. They show dimples and...
Tommy is a Prophet, Seer and Revelator! Not there is a good myth!
The UAW are America workers who once build the largest corporation on earth...
@@mark B | 12:39 p.m. Even George W. Bush was against the surge until his...
It seems the Trail Blazers didn't do much to help themselves, but did do a...
As one who was once falsely accused of similar acts, but later the young girl...
REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED WHEN UTAH GAVE TOO MUCH FOR OSTERTAG? iT SCREWED THEM...
These teens re-lived the hardships of the Mormon Trail? Such silly...
Guess what?!! The rest of the world thinks MORMONS ARE NOT MORAL!!!
@If I were Obama | 7:25 a.m. So funny. LMAO with this comment. Just...
"Fight the Power" is trying to make a civil rights analogy here that...


You can be the first to comment on this story.