Post by Sheila on Mar 15, 2024 15:24:04 GMT -5
"Congress shall make no law" that prohibits "the right of the people to peaceably assemble".
A lot of people I know personally often only think of the right to protest. However, this part of the 1st Amendment applies to so much more. An assembly is any group of people gathering for any purpose. Church services, political rallies, reunions, protests, and so much more are considered as forms of assembly for the purposes of this amendment. Even groups considered by most people to be hate groups, such as the KKK, have a right to hold rallies and to protest. Simply because someone disagrees with the group's beliefs and/or opinions or finds those things offensive doesn't curtail that group's rights under this protection. As long as they don't break any other law, they may peaceably assemble.
Just as with rights such as the freedom of speech, governments at all levels - federal, state, or local - may place restrictions on where and when these gatherings occur. The government may require the group to obtain a permit before they gather on public property. The application for a permit allows the government enough time to put things such as traffic control and extra security in place. For example, a city may require a parade permit protestors plan to move along streets from one place to another. Perhaps they won't accept the day of choice because another large group will be there that day and two groups would stress the city's resources. They may not agree to a particular time because the noise may disrupt another group or be too late at night. Although some cities have more recently allowed these marches to do so in complete disregard of the permitting process, others can choose to enforce the rule and disburse the group. A city that requires permits, however, have to honor that request in a timely manner and not keep putting it off. They also can't legally (according to the Constitution) refuse a permit for no other reason than they disagree with the beliefs or political views of the group applying for the permit.
A group doesn't have the right to assemble in a public area if doing so infringes on the rights of people not in the group. Blocking roads and bridges takes away the rights of the people who need to travel along them to get to where they need or want to be. Blocking sidewalks to the point other people have to take another route or walk on the street to get around the crowd is the same as blocking roads and becomes a hazard because people have to walk where cars are driving. People don't have a right to walk into courthouses and disrupt government business. They can't gather in parks if doing so blocks the use of those areas to other people or forces them to leave. These are but a few examples. Gathering in any of these places without a permit or permission can be disbursed without going against the amendment.
The same applies to gathering on private property. Groups don't have the right to gather in someone's yard, a church, store/mall and so on without the owner's permission. This action is even more of an infringement of the other person's or group's rights. These groups can not only be legally disbursed, any individual within the group can be arrested and charged with trespassing.
Note the amendment protects peaceable assembly. If even a few people within the group start fights, smash car windows, loot stores, start fires, or in any way vandalize property, it's no longer peaceful. In fact, this becomes a riot. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a riot as a "tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three or more people". The number of people involved in order to be classified as a riot may differ from city to city; however, the rest of the definition remains the same. A riot is even worse when weapons are used including shooting fireworks at other people. Riots lead to injury or death to people or damage to property. And don't believe any news report stating something was a "mostly peaceful protest" (or other gathering), especially when while they're reporting that, in the background, you see buildings burning, people being beat up, and looters running out of stores. While not everyone in the group may be committing crimes, it is still considered a riot. People caught in the act of breaking the laws can be arrested and the other people forced to leave the area. Even refusing to leave when told to by officials can be classified as a crime.
The 1st Amendment protects the rights of every citizen to assemble as long as they do so peaceably. No one has a right to riot, regardless of the reason.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers
A lot of people I know personally often only think of the right to protest. However, this part of the 1st Amendment applies to so much more. An assembly is any group of people gathering for any purpose. Church services, political rallies, reunions, protests, and so much more are considered as forms of assembly for the purposes of this amendment. Even groups considered by most people to be hate groups, such as the KKK, have a right to hold rallies and to protest. Simply because someone disagrees with the group's beliefs and/or opinions or finds those things offensive doesn't curtail that group's rights under this protection. As long as they don't break any other law, they may peaceably assemble.
Just as with rights such as the freedom of speech, governments at all levels - federal, state, or local - may place restrictions on where and when these gatherings occur. The government may require the group to obtain a permit before they gather on public property. The application for a permit allows the government enough time to put things such as traffic control and extra security in place. For example, a city may require a parade permit protestors plan to move along streets from one place to another. Perhaps they won't accept the day of choice because another large group will be there that day and two groups would stress the city's resources. They may not agree to a particular time because the noise may disrupt another group or be too late at night. Although some cities have more recently allowed these marches to do so in complete disregard of the permitting process, others can choose to enforce the rule and disburse the group. A city that requires permits, however, have to honor that request in a timely manner and not keep putting it off. They also can't legally (according to the Constitution) refuse a permit for no other reason than they disagree with the beliefs or political views of the group applying for the permit.
A group doesn't have the right to assemble in a public area if doing so infringes on the rights of people not in the group. Blocking roads and bridges takes away the rights of the people who need to travel along them to get to where they need or want to be. Blocking sidewalks to the point other people have to take another route or walk on the street to get around the crowd is the same as blocking roads and becomes a hazard because people have to walk where cars are driving. People don't have a right to walk into courthouses and disrupt government business. They can't gather in parks if doing so blocks the use of those areas to other people or forces them to leave. These are but a few examples. Gathering in any of these places without a permit or permission can be disbursed without going against the amendment.
The same applies to gathering on private property. Groups don't have the right to gather in someone's yard, a church, store/mall and so on without the owner's permission. This action is even more of an infringement of the other person's or group's rights. These groups can not only be legally disbursed, any individual within the group can be arrested and charged with trespassing.
Note the amendment protects peaceable assembly. If even a few people within the group start fights, smash car windows, loot stores, start fires, or in any way vandalize property, it's no longer peaceful. In fact, this becomes a riot. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a riot as a "tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three or more people". The number of people involved in order to be classified as a riot may differ from city to city; however, the rest of the definition remains the same. A riot is even worse when weapons are used including shooting fireworks at other people. Riots lead to injury or death to people or damage to property. And don't believe any news report stating something was a "mostly peaceful protest" (or other gathering), especially when while they're reporting that, in the background, you see buildings burning, people being beat up, and looters running out of stores. While not everyone in the group may be committing crimes, it is still considered a riot. People caught in the act of breaking the laws can be arrested and the other people forced to leave the area. Even refusing to leave when told to by officials can be classified as a crime.
The 1st Amendment protects the rights of every citizen to assemble as long as they do so peaceably. No one has a right to riot, regardless of the reason.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers