This is how the police should handle chalking!
The head attorney of the NH ACLU, Gilles Bissonnette, has weighed in on the proposed chalking ban for downtown Keene. In a two-page testimony sent to the Keene city council, Bissonnette lays out how the proposed ban runs afoul of long-held free speech principles, citing multiple supreme court cases:
“fundamental to the continuing vitality of our democracy, for ‘time out of mind, [sidewalks] have been used for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions.’”
“[a]s a general matter, we have indicated that in public debate our own citizens must tolerate insulting, and even outrageous, speech in order to provide adequate breathing space to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.”
Bissonnette also encourages police to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of violence and says that the city should be encouraging free expression rather than suppressing it. It’s an excellent legal opinion and the city council should read it carefully before they screw up and pass an unconstitutional suppression of free speech. Stay tuned to Free Keene for the latest on the ridiculous-to-the-max War on Chalk.
