Jefferson City Council softens demonstration ordinance
BY ALLEN LUTON
For the second week in a row, the Jefferson City Council amended the town’s demonstration ordinance during a called meeting on Monday night at the Civic Center. The latest changes, which were unanimously approved, ease the requirements on groups that wish to assemble lawfully on public property, however they still require that a permit be obtained free-of-charge in advance of any planned public assembly.
The new version of the ordinance will take effect beginning on Aug. 1, which should give the city enough time to make the necessary permit application preparations. Plans call for the applications to be available online, city manager John Ward said Monday.
According to Jefferson city attorney Ronnie Hopkins, the old ordinance would have held up in court, but the latest version approved Monday should be more difficult to challenge legally.
“The other ordinance, I feel, would probably pass constitutional muster, but this one I feel more comfortable with,” Hopkins told the council.
The latest ordinance does not limit the days and times assemblies can take place, but it does require a permit if more than 10 people will take part in demonstrations. It also reduces the advance notice the city must be given from five days to three business days.
“We’re just trying to do the best that we can for all citizens concerned,” Hopkins added Tuesday. “It has nothing to do with what people want to say or anything of that nature, it’s just a matter of, as it says, if you’ve got more than 10 (people) the city needs for you to get a permit, a no-cost permit.”
Under the most recent ordinance the definition of an assembly includes “any congregation, gathering, assembly, march, parade, procession, or demonstration on the public streets, sidewalks, rights of way, or other public property or ways of the city using amplified sound devices...” or any gatherings “consisting of more than 10 people, except funeral processions” on public property.
A review of the town’s demonstration ordinance came about last month after complaints began arising over graphic anti-abortion protests taking place in the downtown area. Those demonstrations were organized by Jefferson Lighthouse Baptist Church pastor Kevin Whitman, who has vowed to fight any ordinance which he says aims to restrict his right to free speech. Whitman and approximately 15 members of his congregation attended Monday’s meeting and he said afterward that he considers the latest changes to soften the ordinance somewhat of a victory.
“The statement our attorney made was that the first ordinance approved (last week) was not even close to being constitutional,” Whitman said following Monday’s meeting. “It’s heading in the right direction. There’s definitely been progress since last week.”
The pastor said he plans to have his attorney look over the latest ordinance changes before commenting further on the matter.
In addition to including signs with anti-abortion phrases and slogans, Jefferson Lighthouse’s demonstrations have mainly caused controversy because they have included protesters holding up large photographs with graphic images of what they say are aborted fetuses, some of which are near full-term, with crushed heads and dismembered body parts. According to reports, some drivers passing by the photographs, especially those with small children riding with them, have been angered by the graphic nature of the images.
“There were some concerns expressed, it’s just an abundance of precaution,” Hopkins said of the latest changes.
Unlike the previous ordinance, the revised one includes an explicit preamble regarding its intent, stating that the city is trying to “reasonably regulate only the time, place, and manner of assemblies and not to regulate the specific content or message of any speech by any applicant.”
Whitman said he is pleased to hear that the city intends to remain content neutral in its approach.
“They (the city) know, and I thank god they know, that content cannot be discriminated against, otherwise it’s not free speech,” the pastor said. “The First Amendment specifically protects unpopular speech and speech that is even considered against the government, and that’s what this country was founded on, and they have addressed that and I’m thankful for that.”
Whitman last held a demonstration on Friday in downtown Jefferson during which the town’s police chief Joseph Wirthman told the pastor he was in violation of the city’s ordinance at the time. He then issued him a verbal warning.
Violators of the ordinance could face a fine of as much as $500 and spend up to six months in jail for each separate offense, if found guilty.
-Reporter Kerri Testament contributed to this story.
