Commenetary: Occupy Tucson Protesters Exercise Their Rights

Wednesday, 19 October 2011 22:17

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Even if you don’t agree with what the protesters of Occupy Wall Street are all about, hopefully you can appreciate the beauty of the democratic process. People who feel passionately about something are exercising their constitutional rights. Average citizens from all walks of life are leaving the comfort of their homes, the familiarity of their Xbox or favorite television program, braving record high 99 degree heat, all to make their voices heard.

Saturday, the movement that began in New York about a month ago went global, reaching 1,500 cities across the nation by some counts, even hitting Tucson. According to the group Occupy Tucson’s website, about 1,000 people showed up for the protest Saturday.

But by Saturday night, Occupy Tucson protesters faced citations by Tucson Police for remaining in Armory Park past 10:30 p.m. Police and protesters interacted peacefully during the process. By Tuesday morning, TPD had issued 109 citations according to an article by Kellie Mejdrich at The Range - Tucson Weekly's daily dispatch.

Which immediately called to mind the constitutional right to public assembly:

“Congress shall make no law…or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

If a public park isn’t the right place for people to “peaceably assemble,” then where, exactly, is?

Apparently, the protesters felt the same way, and Tuesday they marched from Armory Park to City Hall to attend a city meeting. Mayor Bob Walkup made an open call to the audience at the meeting and several people voiced not only the grievances that are central to the Occupy movement, but also their desire to be able to assemble in the park past the 10:30 curfew.

Many of the addresses made by the protesters were impassioned pleas, not only for their cause and for dismissing citations, but also for the members of the council to join the protesters. Two lawyers warned the council that the citations would not withstand a constitutional motion to dismiss in court and were therefore a waste of police time and tax-payer dollars.

By Tuesday, the fourth day of the protest in Tucson, numbers were much smaller than they were Saturday. According to a Daily Star article, about 150 protesters marched to city hall. Only a handful remained in the park during the city hall meeting.

Written by Tim W. Glass

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