Suing for the Right to Protest

Anti-war groups are suing for the right to demonstrate against the war for the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, MN. It sounds like the protesters were given the typical bureaucratic runaround.

The Anti-War Committee, a local group, applied for a permit to march more than a year ago, but was turned down because city officials said that city ordinances bar applications for demonstrations more than six months in advance.

On March 1, police granted protesters a "conditional alternative permit," but it provided no march route. The city attorney's office said a parade route would be approved no later than May 31, the lawsuit says.

I've been on the fence about the effectiveness of protest, which I tend to gauge about as effective as the civic duty of voting -- that is, when examined on an individual level, not particularly effective. But I'll defend the notion of the right to protest all the way to the end. There's no reason why protesters shouldn't be allowed to march to the Republican National Convention. In fact, by lobbying for a convention -- particularly the Republican one -- to be held in Minneapolis, they should have expected it.

Cross-posted.