7/31/2019 NYPD NYC Christine Quinn Protest Banner Assembly Restrictions

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In2003,manyanti-warprotests

tookplaceinNewYorkCity.On

February15,somewhere

between100,000400,000

peopletookpartinamassive

demonstration.Asimilarprotest

tookplaceonMarch22.

Othermassiveproteststook

placelater,includingoneon

August29,2004,inwhichas

manyas800,000people

marchedpasttheRepublican

NationalConventionat

MadisonSquareGarden.

Duringtheseprotests,NYPD

arrestedthousandsofbicyclists,

AIDSactivists,seniorcitizens,

regularcitizensanybodyandeverybody,whochoseto

peacefullyassembleandto

exercisetheirrighttofreedomof

speech.

AndtheNYPDusedviolence

againstprotesters.Examplesof

violenceincludebackinghorses

intodemonstrators,shoving

peopleintometalbarricades,

sprayingatoxicsubstanceat

penned-indemonstrators,using

abusivelanguage,andraising

nightsticksagainstsomepeople,

whocouldn'tmove.

In2006,manycourtsruledthat

NewYorkCitysrulesgoverning

citizenassemblieswereunconstitutional.

TheCityCouncilbecame

responsibleformakingtherules

morefair.Insteadofholding

hearingsandusingademocratic

processtodeterminethenew

assemblyrules,Speaker

ChristineQuinnletNYPDwrite

theruleswithnopublicinput.

InFebruary2007,SpeakerQuinn

rubber-stampedthenewrules

intoeffect.Suddenly,itwas

illegalformorethan50people

toassemblepubliclythatwould

involveamarch,withoutprior

permissionfromNYPD.

Then#Occupyhappens.

Fast-forwardto20

CongressandtheP

outlawproteststar

politicians,andthe

Anti-TresspassBi

sudden,Quebecou

formorethan50p

priorpoliceapprovcallitBill78.

Our#CivilLibertie

#SlipperySlope--

dangerousprecede

SpeakerQuinn.

TheConstitution

People--notWe

ProtestPermits.