Free speech zones

Lillie Newspapers: 2/27/08: Alex Davy: Public forum or wind tunnel?

...
Pausing a moment to collect himself, Rossbach continued. "We do have the right to put into place rules for their petitioning process," he said. "A simple one is requiring their legal address."

In the face of yet another session that threatened to push past midnight, the discussion was tabled until the next City Council meeting.

After the item appeared on the agenda, the American Civil Liberties Union sent Rossbach a letter detailing appropriate restrictions on public speech, warning that his proposal did not meet free speech standards.

Rossbach has since reconsidered the policy. While his intentions were good, he says, his approach was off. He now proposes moving visitor presentations before the regular council meetings, so that the council can move forward with agenda items more quickly.

Pioneer Press: 2/28/08: Jason Hoppin: City to RNC protesters: Get in line

Demonstrators who want to march on this year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul will have to get in line — literally.

The city police department offered a sketch Wednesday of how it anticipates handling the tens of thousands of people expected to protest the event, which will be Sept. 1-4 at the Xcel Energy Center. Marchers will be restricted to one route, with masses of protesters generally confined to a set area.

"There will be a distance," Assistant Police Chief Matt Bostrom said. "You won't be able to be right up on (the Xcel Center), standing there, interacting with people as they go in the front doors. But you will be close enough that people, if they were at those doors, can hear you."

Neither the route nor the location of the stationary area has been set, Bostrom said. The city is studying four possible march routes for the convention's first day and expects to choose one by May 31.

While demonstrations throughout the city would be subject to normal permit requirements, those in immediate proximity to the Xcel Center would be confined to the protest area.

Known as "free speech zones," those areas have become the norm at national nominating conventions. But they remain controversial. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, protesters were kept behind high fences, prompting comparisons to Guantanamo Bay.