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News :: Protest Activity |
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Attempt To Ban All Demos In Miami |
Current rating: 0 |
by Allowishis via ML
Email: max (nospam) theworkerscenter.org (unverified!) |
25 Sep 2003
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Something to watch as planning for protests begins |
Call to Action: Miami Anti-Demo Law Greetings Activists: As you may be aware, the city of Miami is considering adopting new anti-demonstrator laws, drafted by police chief John Timoney of the 2000 Republican National Convention fame, specifically to squash dissent to the FTAA, which is coming to Miami this November. If passed, this would be the most restrictive anti-demonstrator law in the US, falling just shy of marshal law rules.
We are calling on all activists, civil libertarians and others of good will to publicly oppose the anti-demonstrator law at the city of Miami commission meeting on Thursday, September 25, 2003 at 9:30AM at Miami City Hall, 3500 PanAmerican drive in Coconut Grove. Please come to show public opposition to this fascist law. Email or call me if you want to speak during our part of the presentation. Max is coordinating the opposition through the Miami Workers Center and in partnership with the NAACP and ACLU. If your organization is officially opposing, please let me know, so we can include you in media and other correspondence.
As written, the law would be in effect from September 25 to November 27, 2003, thereby specifically targeting anti-FTAA demonstrators. The city does not want any anti-FTAA demonstrations as they might interfere with the local power structure's desire to secure the permanent FTAA headquarters in Miami. However, the law would also apply to every gathering between those dates, including little league sports, concerts and any other "assembly."
The proposed anti-demonstrator law defines an assembly as any combination of three (3) people, animals or vehicles with a common purpose. That means the police can see me (1) driving down the street in my car (2), with a dog (3) and claim we are participating in a demonstration. Or, if two men (2) are sitting on the corner playing dominoes and a dog (3) walks by, the police can declare them an assembly for purposes of "law enforcement."
The law makes it illegal to have rifles, shotguns, pistols, grenades and other weapons at an "assembly." However, these items are already illegal most of the time in most places, and so, no new law is needed. However, by defining and targeting an "assembly," police are granted new powers to stop people (and dogs) and hold them accountable to all kinds of other rules.
Other newly outlawed items include: any kind of glass; marbles; vinyl signs (with your organizations name), sticks to hold up signs or placards; baseballs; baseball bats; any other rubber ball; anything police think is intended for use as a weapon.
On a practical level, in the previous two examples, police can pull me and my dog over for having a demonstration, then, if they find a baseball or even a marble in my car, can arrest me for having an illegal object. The two men playing dominoes can get arrested for the same if the dog walks by while they have a glass bottle of soda or beer or a glass of water from home. I don't even want to get into what happens if you attend a little league baseball game inside of city limits.
Will the city go after all of these examples? No, but that is exactly the point: they are passing this for purposes of selective prosecution, where they can attack people in one community, but not in another. Equally as important, even though the law expires on Thanksgiving day, it sets a terribly dangerous precedent: will they pass this law again the next time the police shoot an unarmed Black man in the back and we want to demonstrate? How about the next time a boat of Haitian refugees arrives and are jailed and we want to demonstrate? How about the next time a Cuban boy is taken from a Little Havana home by the feds and the Cubans want to demonstrate?
Please come out to show your outrage! Don't let them get away with passing this oppressive law! See you at city hall! |
