Residential Tranquility – ???
Alert from Facebook | Carin Z.
Bill 18-63: the “Residential Tranquility Act of 2010”
“This would establish certain restrictions and requirements for residential demonstrations, which would apply when there are three or more demonstrators targeting a residence. Restrictions include: prohibiting a residential demonstration between 10pm and 7am; prohibiting the wearing of a mask during the residential demonstration; and a requirement for demonstrators to notify MPD at least two hours in advance of the demonstration.”
It is already forbidden in some states to wear face-covering masks during demonstrations. Now, wearing a mask while protesting outside a residence without telling D.C. police first could get you arrested.
Read More … Mask-wearing protestors in D.C. can now be arrested
Why is this a problem ?
From Green is the New Red
By Will Potter
5 Reasons for Activists to Cover Their Faces at Protests
- Spying. The FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Forces routinely spy on lawful, above-ground activists. For instance, the ACLU exposed FBI agents spying on animal rights activists who were leafleting outside of HoneyBaked Hams. And corporations have been tracking who activists are dating.
- Blacklists. Government “watchlists” have millions of names. Recently in Maryland, it was exposed that law enforcement kept terrorist files on environmentalists, antiwar activists, and nuns.
- Grand jury witch hunts. Vocal, public activists are routinely hauled before grand juries in political witch hunts, and forced to testify about their political beliefs and political associations. If they refuse, they face jail time.
- Infiltration. The government has been using paid informants and provacateurs to keep tabs on lawful protest movements. The recent case of the RNC 8 is a good example, and even more disturbing is “Anna,” the FBI informant who befriended activists and entrapped them.
- Legal attacks. FBI agents have shown their incompetence in attempts to track down underground members of the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front. There have been arrests, but those crimes overwhelmingly remain unsolved. Instead, law enforcement has been cracking down on the public faces of those movements and labeling them “eco-terrorists.” A good example of that is the SHAC 7 case.
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The ACLU has opposed the Residential Tranquility Act of 2010, the letter is HERE.
What you can do: protest! They haven’t closed the postal system or internet yet, so feel free to send the below message to the associated addresses.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Re: Bill 18-63, the “Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2010”
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am contacting you regarding Bill 18-63, the “Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2010,” which would make it a crime for three or more persons to conduct a completely peaceful, quiet, non-threatening demonstration in front of someone’s residence if the demonstration takes place at night, or if the demonstrators wear masks, or if they have not provided the police with advance notice of the demonstration. This legislation would restrict freedom of speech by creating an unnecessary new crime when all that is really needed is the enforcement of existing laws.
Peaceful residential picketing is a quintessential First Amendment activity and is a valuable part of our expressive freedom. The District of Columbia has a long history of peaceful residential picketing that should not lightly be discarded. There are also entirely legitimate reasons why a person might want to wear a mask while engaged in targeted residential picketing. The right to engage in anonymous speech is generally protected under the First Amendment precisely because there are legitimate reasons for speaking anonymously.
None of these peaceful, non-threatening, free speech activities ought to be a crime, or needs to be made a crime in order to protect residents against threatening conduct. I support ACLU’s letter sent to the council and urge the Council to defeat this pointless and unnecessary anti-freespeech bill.
Thank you for your attention.
NAME
WHOM TO CONTACT:
http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/contactuscouncil
Council offices (copy/paste into your TO):
dccouncil@dccouncil.us, vgray@dccouncil.us, dcatania@dccouncil.us, pmendelson@dccouncil.us, kbrown@dccouncil.us, mbrown@dccouncil.us, jgraham@dccouncil.us, jackevans@dccouncil.us, mcheh@dccouncil.us, mbowser@dccouncil.us, hthomas@dccouncil.us, twells@dccouncil.us, yalexander@dccouncil.us, mbarry@dccouncil.us,
Related, Matthew Strugar | AETA4 Legal Team
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free speech and the right to oppose
is how our nation, america, arose
to gather and assemble,
to protest what is wrong
is precisely what makes
…america strong
we are united in protest
whether online or
outdoors
to help all those creatures
that swim, crawl, fly
or walk on all fours
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Our Compass 
free speech and the right to oppose
is how our nation, america, arose
to gather and assemble,
to protest what is wrong
is precisely what makes
…america strong
we are united in protest
whether online or
outdoors
to help all those creatures
that swim, crawl, fly
or walk on all fours
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