sidecross
02-15-2003, 05:59 AM
As over 200 cities in the United States planned demonstration marchs this weekend in conjunction with other cities world wide, New York City is not allowed to march.
Last month in San Francisco over 200,000 people marched; if we were restricted to gather at a location instead of march it would have been a logistic nightmare.
The following letter to the New York Times posted today, 2/15/03 best voices this sad development:
The Fundamental Right to March
February 15, 2003
To the Editor:
Re "The Antiwar Non-March" (editorial, Feb. 14):
The freedom to march is a fundamental right that goes to the
core of our constitutional democracy. We need to undo this
week's terrible precedent that prohibited antiwar
protesters from marching through the streets of New York
City.
The argument that the police can no longer police the
protest marches because of the financial costs and the
post-9/11 security concerns is unpersuasive. First, many
veterans of protest marches believe that the police
overpolice these events. Second, why are the police still
willing to "protect" a St. Patrick's Day Parade if security
concerns and costs are suddenly so important?
New Yorkers should not be hostile to and threatened by
protest marches. They are a rich tradition that has helped
bring needed public attention to injustices and
inequalities that warranted change. New York would not be
the great city it is today without New Yorkers over the
years marching in our streets for social justice causes.
NORMAN SIEGEL
STEVEN HYMAN
New York, Feb. 14, 2003
The writers are, respectively, the executive director and a
board member of the Freedom Legal Defense and Education
Project.
Last month in San Francisco over 200,000 people marched; if we were restricted to gather at a location instead of march it would have been a logistic nightmare.
The following letter to the New York Times posted today, 2/15/03 best voices this sad development:
The Fundamental Right to March
February 15, 2003
To the Editor:
Re "The Antiwar Non-March" (editorial, Feb. 14):
The freedom to march is a fundamental right that goes to the
core of our constitutional democracy. We need to undo this
week's terrible precedent that prohibited antiwar
protesters from marching through the streets of New York
City.
The argument that the police can no longer police the
protest marches because of the financial costs and the
post-9/11 security concerns is unpersuasive. First, many
veterans of protest marches believe that the police
overpolice these events. Second, why are the police still
willing to "protect" a St. Patrick's Day Parade if security
concerns and costs are suddenly so important?
New Yorkers should not be hostile to and threatened by
protest marches. They are a rich tradition that has helped
bring needed public attention to injustices and
inequalities that warranted change. New York would not be
the great city it is today without New Yorkers over the
years marching in our streets for social justice causes.
NORMAN SIEGEL
STEVEN HYMAN
New York, Feb. 14, 2003
The writers are, respectively, the executive director and a
board member of the Freedom Legal Defense and Education
Project.