Spontaneous protests will only be legal with 48 hours notice under North Carolina proposal [View all]

[turbinetree]

The next time residents of Durham County, North Carolina, feel the itch to spontaneously express political feelings on public grounds, they’d better hope somebody had the foresight to ask permission two days earlier.

The Durham County Commission opened the new year with a proposal to require 48 hours’ notice before any demonstration on County-owned land. “In order to ensure the safety of all involved in and near demonstrations on County grounds prior notification is required if the group will be 50 or more individuals or has the potential of 50 or more individuals,” the rules before the commission on Tuesday state. “If notification is not given within the stated requirements or if a spontaneous group exceeds 50 individuals, the County Manager or his/her designee may determine that those participating in the demonstration on County grounds are trespassing and may request that participants be removed by law enforcement.”


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Taken together, these various official actions and legal quests signify a dramatic shift in the traditional balance between basic civil rights and authority. The nation’s commitment to human rights recognized in both the U.S. Constitution and international law has rarely looked so shaky.

https://thinkprogress.org/durham-county-protest-restrictions-5dbb8de6b62a/