Community | August 03, 2009 | Comment on this video (21)

Defend Free Speech! Cities charging people to march and demonstrate in the streets.

SarahGarrahan
The city of San Antonio, Texas passed an ordinance in 2007 that charges people thousands of dollars to march in the city streets.

The Free Speech coalition and the Int'l Woman's Day march planning committee have been organizing against the ordinance for two years. These organizations/groups community members have been blockwalking, making phone calls, having house meetings and demonstrating several times. Both organizations have filed a lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit is now in the 5th circuit court, however, the community continues to gather thousands of signatures and members not just relying on the justice system but continuing to mobalize more and more people on this issue.

This video is a call out to citizens of San Antonio to come out on August 8th and defend your rights to free speech!

More information: http://www.esperanzacenter.org/freespeech/
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    Community,   VC2 Top Contenders US,   Activism,   Freedom of Speech
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    Activism,  Human Rights,  Racism,  Police Brutality,  11 more
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21 comments // Defend Free Speech! Cities charging people to march and demonstrate in the streets. // Video

  • eofgirlpictures
  • eofgirlpictures
  • ReganMann
  • eofgirlpictures
    • 0
      eofgirlpictures  

    • I went to the demonstration yesterday in the main plaza! It was a total success! After an hour of protesting and street theatre we took it to the streets and completely took over one of the busiest streets in Downtown. Around three hundred protesters defied the ordianance and showed that we don't need to pay to be heard! We did it all without cops to barricade streets or to control traffic, the mass of protesters did it ourselves! There were two cops at the demonstration that were completely outnumbered by protesters and simply gave up after only two minutes of trying to get us off the street. They were two many of us! We marched to the Mercado (farmer's market) downtown and took over that space as well, which used to be an integral part of the san anto community that has now been turned into a tourist money making machine. We took over that space and used the mainstage to voice our resistance! It was such a great day in san antonio history. I'm so glad i was there and was apart of it!

    • 2 years ago
  • GodsnLiberals
    • 0
      GodsnLiberals  

    • before all you liberals start getting into a frenzy..i hope you guys realize that running a protest consumes resources..
      barricades..portable toilets.. medical staff..police..

      and i dont think the rest of society should pay for your right to free speech..

    • 2 years ago
  • bluestranger
  • GodsnLiberals
    • 0
      GodsnLiberals  
    • GodsnLiberals:

      do you really think that those liberals could defend themselves when it comes down to it??

      the only reason why most liberals are pretty brave is because they know that when shit hits the fan..they can hide behind the police or a marine

    • 2 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  
    • GodsnLiberals:

      This liberal has no problem defending himself. There is a difference between non violence and turn the other cheek. The first neocon that pushed that boundery would need a cop to pull me off. Not to worry though, most conservatives are run of the mill school yard bullies. All talk but real pants poopers when it comes down to it.

    • 2 years ago
  • ii386
    • 0
      ii386  
    • GodsnLiberals:

      Once again GNL---Stop stereotyping and stop putting people in categories. Liberals are not a race, they are not some type of people that ALWAYS act a sort of way, does a certain thing, or even THINKS the same as other 'liberals.' When you make those kinds of statements it just make you look... well... stupid.

      and BTW if society doesn't pay for ALL free speech then who really decides what speech is good enough and what isn't? Cause if I COULD choose...I'd impose strict limits on every time you open your mouth or put your hands to a keyboard cause everything you say is worth about the same as the shit I just took.

    • 2 years ago
  • eofgirlpictures
    • 0
      eofgirlpictures  
    • GodsnLiberals:

      I'm from San Antonio, and you know what? we just finished taking it to the streets yesterday. We did it without barricades, portapotties, and medical. There were two police watching the demonstration and really couldn't do anything once we took it to the streets. so if all we needed was two cops to just stand and stare at us, i think we used hardly any resources at all. It was pretty much all DIY!

    • 2 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  

    • Non violent protest is a basic right of free speech. If plans are made and approved then no city in the U.S. should be allowed to abridge that.

    • 2 years ago
  • GodsnLiberals
    • 0
      GodsnLiberals  
    • bluestranger:

      most of the time..a "non-violent" protest means hundreds of people..meaning the city needs to allocate logistics..staff and resources..and as you know they are not umpaloompas that work for candies..someone has to pay for that..I refuse to pay for every delusional bullshitter that comes along and "apply for permit" to have a protest.

      you can protest..just pay for it..learn the difference..

    • 2 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  
    • bluestranger:

      Typical blowhard conservative. Non violent means non violent. The panty wetters would be the big business owners and the real "Americans" (Palins words, not mine) that are still scared of the great unwashed.

    • 2 years ago
  • Armageddon_Now
  • jlichman
  • larrysnotes
  • larrysnotes
  • BullDogg
    • 0
      BullDogg  

    • I went to college in New England and I organized a few events that required me to get permits from the city. They had an ordinance that required you to jump through hoops if you expected more than fifty people to show up... I was to also provide security and porta-potties as well...even though the events were usually held on private property. I believe that their ordinance is unconstitutional and still stands only because renting a porta-potty is a lot cheaper than renting a lawyer.

    • 2 years ago
  • galwayman
    • 0
      galwayman  

    • our government has torn the constitution to shreads people with laws like the Patriot Act which certainly violates so many constitutional amendments that it, any other oppressive laws passed subsiquent to it, must be repealed! Obama and the democrats have done nothing to reverse the Bush-Cheney police state! if you trade FREEDOM for SECURITY you end up with Neither! If we the people don't fight for our nation the New World order will be the result! Take to the streets! RESIST! Fight! I know that I will!

    • 2 years ago
  • ReganMann
  • Drach
    • 0
      Drach  

    • Yet another story about the First Amendment being ignored in the south. First the Floridian rapper being jailed for writing a song similar to Ice-T's "Cop Killer", now this.

      Now people have to pay to protest?!

      WTF is going on in the south!? Have ANY of the southern lawmakers even read the Constitution? You know.. that Document that spells out our inalienable rights? Sometimes I wonder if they sit around trying to violate those Amendments with newer laws... /facepalm.

    • 2 years ago
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