AUSTIN, Texas The School of Law at The University of Texas at Austin is opening the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, which will be dedicated to advancing the discussion, education and scholarship of the First Amendment.

Among the centers main projects will be a new experiential education opportunity, the Law and Religion Clinic. It is the first clinic at a university in the state dedicated to representing clients in cases that involve challenges to their religious liberty and will allow students to learn about the parallels between the First Amendment and religion.

We live in times when measured conversation between people with different viewpoints has often become difficult sometimes even scarce, said Ward Farnsworth, dean of the School of Law.As the flagship public law school in a diverse state, I believe its important for us to show commitment and leadership on this issue.

Students will serve as advocates for clients who would otherwise be unlikely to find representation.These include individuals denied benefits or opportunities because of their religious exercise or beliefs, religious institutions discriminated against in municipal land-use decisions, and individuals seeking to practice the tenets of their religion in restrictive environments, such as prison and educational settings.

At a moment where our nation is divided on so many issues, our constitutional right to free speech is one of the most important tools we have to facilitate needed discussions, find common ground and continue making progress, together, said UT Austin interim President Jay Hartzell. The First Amendment Center will provide incredible experiential learning opportunities for UT law students while helping serve Texans in need of legal counsel and representation.

The center opens immediately, and the clinic will be offered to students during the spring 2021 semester. The center is named for Doug Bech, J.D. 70, and Samuel Loughlin, J.D. 98, who have partnered to pledge an $8 million gift to endow the centers activities and staff.

Our First Freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly are central to human flourishing, liberty and a healthy society in America and across the earth, said Bech and Loughlin. It is best secured through a civil public square where all discussion is respected equally in accordance with our rule of law. We believe that this Center and Clinic will provide UTs law students with the educational foundation to protect and embrace these vital constitutional rights for all persons.

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New First Amendment Center to House Law and Religion Clinic - UT News - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

More than four years ago, Oklahoma City made it a crime to stand, sit, or stay on roadway medians to exercise the right of free speech. As then City Councilmember Meg Salyer explained, the anti-panhandling law responded to rising complaints from motorists about their quality of life [being] destroyed by the unseemly sight of panhandlers. On Monday, a federal appeals court struck down the law for violating the First Amendment.

The court agreed with the lawsuit that I filed with the ACLU and Legal Aid of Oklahoma on behalf of panhandlers, political activists, the Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Red Dirt Report and ordinary citizens. Our victory reaffirms the vital constitutional principle that the government generally lacks the power to prevent citizens from peacefully and safely speaking to each other in the public square.

In recent weeks, mass protests for racial justice and equality have demonstrated the critical importance of respecting those First Amendment freedoms.

The city shamefully defended its anti-panhandling law for years, with taxpayers footing the bill. To cover up blatant discrimination against our poorest and least popular citizens, the city applied the law to everyone. It consequently inflicted widespread collateral damage on the free speech of activists campaigning for votes on election day, protesters rallying for political change, firefighters filling the boot for charity and panhandlers begging for dollars to survive.

In court, the city had the gall to contend that it adopted the law for no other purpose than traffic safety. Yet the city failed to find a single accident involving a pedestrian on a median in its decades of records. By contrast, hundreds of bicyclists, runners and lately scooters have gotten hit in active lanes of traffic. Tellingly, the city still permits those much more dangerous activities. As the appeals court concluded, the city utterly failed to justify its mass suppression of free speech as a purported traffic-safety measure.

The city has squandered four years of legal work defending its violation of the free speech rights of residents. Worse, as The Oklahoman has reported, the city has spent well over $100,000 paying a private law firm to assist its defense. And with our victory, federal civil rights law makes the city liable for our legal fees to deter it from violating the constitutional rights of citizens in the future.

This has been a costly and avoidable civics lesson. Hopefully next time our elected city leaders will heed calls not only to respect the rights of citizens, but also to devote limited public resources to rooting out poverty rather than sweeping the impoverished out of sight.

Thai is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Oklahoma.

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Point of View: Federal court ruling in OKC case is a victory for the First Amendment - Oklahoman.com

Enforcing of the law

Law and order should be enforced by uniformed police under the control of local civil authority, not by armed strangers who show up in monster trucks. Or would the police rather that those who disagree with the latter form their own militias to take back their streets?

Thus far, the actions of the president's armed supporters have been anything but "well-regulated." The self-serving words and subsequent self-preserving actions of the 17-year-old alleged shooter in Kenosha demonstrate that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Or perhaps his intentions were not so good to begin with?

I think our "exceptional" society has less to fear from the guys with umbrellas than the guys in love with firepower. In either case, if the police do not give priority to the practice of the First Amendment over the practice of the Second Amendment, we may bleed for it.

That's why I disagree with "defunding" the police: I want more money spent on the training of police to recognize and act as if unarmed people of color sleeping in a restaurant drive-through, or selling "hot" cigarettes on a street corner, or in possession of a "hot" $20 bill, or asleep in their own homes are not threats to American "exceptionalism."

GARY WEKKIN

Conway

On systemic racism

Until our Black and brown brothers and sisters are free from hatred and systemic racism in America, all lives do not matter.

By dismissing Black Lives Matter and replacing it with All Lives Matter, you are comfortable with your own privilege because police brutality does not personally affect you or your loved ones.

Until good cops stand up and report the bad ones, all lives do not matter.

Until police officers who blatantly abuse their authority are held accountable for their willful actions, all lives do not matter.

Until policies are changed to send a clear message that racism and the abuse of power will not be tolerated within the city, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, all lives do not matter.

You see ... until Black Lives Truly Matter ... All Lives Matter is a false narrative used to justify the oppression and injustice of the most marginalized among us.

ANGELA STOUT-EVELD

Charleston

Misuse of the office

The newspaper recently reported that taxpayers have shelled out $900,000 to support the businesses of the current occupant of the White House since his term began. His supporters appear to disregard his constant lies, horrendous attacks on the environment, stoking of racism, and lack of common decency. Can they not at least take umbrage at this flagrant misuse of their own funds?

The recent traumatic arrival of Hurricane Laura underscores the importance of mobilizing to combat climate change. The craven inhabitant of the Oval Office continues to enable his cronies in the oil and gas industries and issues frequent executive orders which imperil our survival and the survival of our four-legged brothers and sisters. I will be sending out letters for the Sierra Club, and I will cast my proud vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

CATHERINE LAMB

Little Rock

Like electoral college

Question for John B.: You're playing a tennis match and in the first set you win six games at love, while your opponent wins six games which all go to deuce. A 7-point tie-break is played, which your opponent wins 7-5 to take the set. Then in the second set, the same thing occurs and he wins the match 7-6.

You've won a total of 94 points while your opponent has taken 74 points. Do you shake his hand (or in these covid-19 times do an elbow bump) and tell him he's the second-place winner?

TOM ZALOUDEK

Little Rock

In different realities

Over the years, I have tried to take the opinions of those with whom I disagree seriously, and to respond in a civil and thoughtful manner. Lately, this has gotten to be difficult.

I look at what is going on in the world and hear people saying things that I cannot believe any sane person could say. It appears that a number of people believe that their wanting something to be true makes it so. I watched much of the Republican convention and was amazed and appalled at the nonsense that was spewed. (Paul Krugman said the only words in Mike Pence's speech that weren't lies were "a," "and," and "the.")

Watching Donald Trump speak on any topic convinces me that he has no empathy, or any normal human emotions, and is concerned only with his own interests. Yet I hear people telling me he is warm and caring. (People need to read Mary Trump's book; some bad genes there?) I hear people discount anything in The New York Times, or other legitimate sources, as "fake news," and somehow, Joe Biden, who holds no office, is responsible for the disorder in our cities, while Trump, who has been president for almost four years, bears no responsibility.

I hear Trump taking credit for the best economy ever (it wasn't), while in fact he was simply there while the recovery that had begun under Obama continued, and his actions, e.g., tariffs and tax cuts, slowed growth, bankrupted a bunch of farmers, and generated a $1 trillion deficit. And that's all pre-virus.

How am I supposed to respond to people who choose to ignore objective reality or who are lying through their teeth? Respectful disagreement no longer seems appropriate.

ROGER WEBB

Little Rock

Rent a moving truck

John Brummett, do a majority of Arkansans a favor and move to another state.

MARK JOHNS

Hamburg

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OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Enforcing of the law | On systemic racism | Misuse of the office - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Instruction

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Webster Groves neighbors mailed anonymous letter asking them to remove Black Lives Matter signs - KMOV.com

So, you think the already harsh language in this years presidential campaign is the worst ever?

Probably not and additionally, political speech, vulgarities, mocking nicknames, claims of incompetence and criminal conduct and a host of personal attacks all are protected by the First Amendments guarantee of freedom of speech.

The high legal bar for public figures to successfully sue for defamation, combined with a historical judicial reluctance to intervene in political campaigns, allows candidates and their surrogates to sling the most vituperative verbal assaults.

And throughout our history, they have.

The first real presidential contest, in 1800, produced what many historians might rank as number one in personal attacks, as then-PresidentJohn Adamsfaced off against Vice PresidentThomas Jefferson.

From the president of Yale University, an Adams supporter, came the warning that if Jefferson won, We would see our wives and daughtersthe victims of legal prostitution. A newspaper in Connecticut declared that Jefferson would establish a nation where murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will openly be taught and practiced.

In response, Jeffersons advocates wrote that Adams was a liar, a would-be king, repulsive and a gross hypocrite who behaved neither like a man nor like a woman but instead possessed a hideous hermaphroditical character.

Adamss son,John Quincy Adams, was both target and attacker in the presidential elections of 1824 and 1828 when facing Andrew Jackson, who lost to Adams in the first contest and won four years later.

American President: A Reference Resourceby the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, notes that in those contests, Adams called Jackson a corruptionist, an aristocrat and a budding tyrant in the model of Caesar or Napoleon, whose election would mean the end of the new American nation.

Adamss opponents spread the unjustified charge that the president had arranged a sexual liaison between a young American girl and the Russian tsar during Adamss time as U.S. ambassador to Russia. On the lighter side, they also published reports that Adams did not wear underwear and went barefoot to church services.

Jackson suffered through attacks in the 1828 election on his wife, Rachel, who it was said apparently with some justification by historians had not yet divorced her first husband before marrying Jackson. She died of a heart attack after Election Day but before Jacksons inauguration, and at her funeral, the president-elect blamed his campaign opponents for her death.

President Trumphas said multiple times that he wants to open up libel laws, which could affect future campaigns by weakening free speech protections resting on a landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.It reinforced those protections when public officials (later expanded to include public figures) are involved.

JusticeWilliam Brennanwrote that the decision was rooted in a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide open and that it may well include vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.

Whether offended by Trumps impolitic use of derogatory nicknames for his opponents, or by Saturday Night Live Trump parodies on TV, that commitment to uninhibited, robust and wide-open debate on issues and even candidate personalities is a hallmark of American democracy even if, at times, we might cringe at how its carried out.

Politicians get their say during campaigns. Government stays out of the way. And we get to respond at the ballot box.

Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute.

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Harsh words: Protected, nothing new | Opinion | presspubs.com - White Bear Press

The National Right to Work Foundation-wonJanus v. AFSCME U.S. Supreme Court decision allows public employees to stop paying dues or fees to a union at any time they choose. Janus affirmed that the First Amendment protects government workers from supporting a union against their wishes.

But ever since the Janusdecision in June 2018, many union bosses have refused to comply with the High Courts decision. So Foundation staff attorneys have filed dozens of cases across the country to enforce the Janusdecision and compel union bosses to respect the First Amendment rights of the workers they claim to represent.

Journalist Mark Tapscott recently reported on a number of these cases for The Epoch Times, including a newly filed case for a police officer serving on the front lines in Las Vegas:

Las Vegas Police Officer Melodie DePierro is the latest in a growing line of public sector employees suing in federal court to demand recognition of their rights under a 2018 Supreme Court decision.

DePierros action was filed in the U.S. District Court for Nevada against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and the local Police Protective Association (PPA) union.

In Janus v American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) decided by a 5-4 vote in June 2018, the high court ruled that public sector employees cannot be forced to pay union dues in the form of agency fees without being given a chance to consent or refuse the deduction.

DePierro noted in her suit that the departments monopoly bargaining agreement with the union only allowed a 20-day window of opportunity to request agency fee refunds and that she had never agreed to the deduction in the first place.

Right-to-Work advocates cheered Janus as a landmark decision that would prompt millions of employees at all levels of government to demand an end to hundreds of millions of dollars in agency fees that helped fund partisan union political activities with which they disagreed.

Instead of respecting her First Amendment Janus rights, PPA union bosses have decided to keep imposing an unconstitutional policy on her just to keep her hard-earned money rolling into their coffers, NRTWLDF President Mark Mix said in a statement announcing the suit.

The High Court made perfectly clear in Janus that affirmative consent from employees is required for any dues deductions to occur. Yet PPA union bosses are clearly violating that standard here, Mix said.

A week before the DePierro filing, NRTWLDF attorneys issued a special notice to more than 28,000 Ohio state employees advising them of their right not to pay agency fees. The notice was part of a settlement of the foundations suit against the state government and the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, AFSCME Local 11 (OCSEA).

Other Janus suits currently working their way through the courts include NRTWLDF actions against the Chicago Teachers Union, the Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA), the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), California Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) union and the University of California, and the Township of Ocean Education Association (TOEA), New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and the National Education Association (NEA) unions. The latter suit has reached a federal appeals court.

Read the entire article online at The Epoch Timeshere.

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In the News: "Foundation Sues to Give Public Employees Their Right Not to Pay Union Dues" - National Right to Work Foundation

A 75-year-old man suffered a head injury and is in 'stable but serious condition' after he was shoved by police during a protest in Buffalo, New York. Storyful

It was his name that gave him away.

Hey, are you the 75-year-old guy who was hit in Buffalo? a post office worker asked.

Martin Gugino, 75, of Amherst, wasnt expecting to be recognized in public, especially wearing a face mask.

But the videos that captured the moment when Buffalo Police officers shoved Gugino backward in front of Buffalos City Hall in June during a protest over the death of George Floyd, causing him to fall and crack his skull on the pavement, had been seen around the world.

Gugino, speaking to the USA TODAYNetwork's New York State Team last week in his first extended interview, was reluctant to go into detail about the incident, which sent him to the hospital for a month to recoverfrom a brain injury and a fractured skull.

That's because he doesnt remember the moment he was shoved, and he has flashes of memory in the minutes before or after. Video recordings helped him fill in the blank spots of what happened that evening.

He is seemingly uninterested in becoming a symbol of a trend or a movement, or drawing attention to himself.

When asked about the context surrounding his fall and injuries, he noted that a lot of people are injured, and a lot of people are killed, and often, nothing is done about those incidents, especially if there was no record of it on video.

Still, he called the incident a turning point for him.

He will continue to participate in grassroots activism around the First Amendment, as he has done for decades. Hell continue to publish writingsabout climate change and injustices at Guantanamo Bay on the internet.

My life is headed in a new direction, Gugino said. How is it different? Im not really sure yet.

Martin Gugino, 75, was pushed by Buffalo Police officers in the aftermath of a rally in Buffalo on June 4. He went to the hospital with a fractured skull and brain injury. He has since recovered, and is hoping to move back to Buffalo in the fall.(Photo: Provided)

Gugino showed up at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Buffalo on June 4 at around 7:45 p.m., 15 minutes before the city-imposed curfew went into effect.

The night prior, a number of Buffalo police officers tooka knee with community members in solidarity with the protests around the murder of Floyd by police in Minneapolis on May 25.

Just minutes before police began moving toward the crowd, Gugino noticed they were outfitted with helmets, vests and batons:I thought, Why are they carrying batons?'"

Earlier in the evening, he had approached several police officers to ask whether they thought the Mayor Byron Browns curfew order could legitimately make an assembly illegal.

They didnt respond, other than to offer to read the mayors statements to him.

Gugino also had a conversation with several bystanders, which was caught on video and appeared to show at least one person expressing anger toward him.

Gugino said one individual thought he was an undercover cop, which Gugino denies.

At around 8:10 p.m., as seen in several videos of the incident, a group of officers began walking toward a few dozen rally attendees who were still in the downtown area after curfew.

Video footage shows a tall, white-haired Gugino approaching the officers head on.

Gugino said he remembers alarmed thoughts flashing through his head when he saw officers moving toward the demonstrators, but has no idea what he said to police in that moment.

I thought, Oh my God and thats all I can remember, he said.

In the seconds following, two officers in the advancing group shoved Gugino away from them and he stumbled and fell backward, his head audibly cracking against the pavement.

Emergency personnel arrived soon after, and Gugino was whisked to the Erie County Medical Center.

The two officers involved, Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski, were suspended without pay and later charged with second-degree assault.

They pleaded not guilty, and are currently suspended with pay, as officers cannot be suspended without pay for more than 30 days, according to a city spokesperson.

The City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Police Department declined to comment further on the incident.

More: Buffalo police officers seen pushing man to ground charged with assault

More: New York signs sweeping police reforms into law after George Floyd death. What they will do

Martin Gugino shown in June 2019 at at Buffalo Youth Climate Strike rally.(Photo: Provided)

What followed for Gugino werean avalanche of tests, scans and physical therapy for the hospital.

After weeks in bed, standing or walking became a challenge, and he had vivid nightmares.

Every time youd sit up, you would get dizzy, he said. It was like you were on a boat all the time.

His pain was manageable with Tylenol, which he said he rarely used for minor aches and pains, even at 75.

He was monitored by medical staff day and night, and couldnt get out of bed or go to the bathroom without their help.

On the positive side, hed be offered cookies in the middle of the night. His flavor of choice? Coconut.

Meanwhile, cards, letters and other well wishes poured in. He slept for hours in the days after the incident, disconnected from the whirlwind of global internet commentary around his actions and the police response.

He has since seen and heard snippets of strangers accusations that he was a leftist provocateur, that his fall was a hoax or that he was wearing a pack of fake blood under his mask.

President Donald Trump publicly considered the validity of such theories about Gugino on Twitter the following week, saying that Gugino could be an antifa provocateur and that he was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment.

Guginos lawyers got angry emails questioning why theyd defend a faker, he said. But Gugino is unfazed by the accusations.

I was like, Go ahead, take your best shot, he said.

The incident didnt cloud his view of police; he still regards them as regular citizens who work within a system he believes is broken.

I come from the suburbs, and theres no problem with police in a white neighborhood, he said. Im not scared of the policemen, but the system is screwed up.

After about a month, Gugino was released from the hospital and was able to walk out using a cane.

Hes living with family outside of New York and plans to close on a new home in Buffalo in September.

'Black Lives Matter': Amherst man pushed by police responds after Trump tweet

Martin Gugino's lawyer: He has brain injury, fractured skull after being pushed by police

Martin Gugino, left, listens at a talk by West Cosgrove, of Rural & Migrant Ministry in Feb. 2019.(Photo: Provided)

When it comes to justice, Gugino is interested in so many causes that hell start talking about a new one before hes finished discussing the first.

He retired in 2003 after decades of working at FirstEnergy Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio. Aftera stint living in California, he eventually moved back to Buffalo to care for his ailing mother, who died six years ago. He has no spouse or children.

Even after a brain injury, he has split-second recall for specific details about years-old court cases, such as the Benny Warr case in Rochester, in which a black man in a wheelchair alleged that he was unlawfully arrested and beaten by police.

Guginos values rest solidly on the rights enshrined in the Constitutions First Amendment, which reads that Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech...or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

But he believes these values are often lost on modern government and law enforcement officials.

He used the example of a 2010 Veterans for Peace rally in front of the White House, which protested the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and other conflicts. More than 130 attendees were arrested.

Youre going to the White House and youre saying, Stop the war. That means the United States should come out and say, Thank you so much, and were writing down all your complaints, Gugino said.

Given the countrys foundation, those involved in more recent protests and rallies should be treated with personal and ideological respect, and law enforcement officials should know whether the laws they protect are themselves legal, he said.

Still, he has hope, because of his countrys democratic roots.

He pointed to Mao Zedongs Hundred Flowers campaign in Communist China in the 1950s, where Zedongs solicitation of feedback on his government from the intellectual community quickly turned into a crackdown on ideological critics.

In America, we decided to let a hundred flowers bloom, Gugino said.

And you know what that means? People are going to get together and start complaining, and realizing how theyre being treated. Are you going to invite them in? Are you going to understand what theyre up to? Thats what democracy does. Thats the difference between Mao Zedong and George Washington.

More: Buffalo protester Martin Gugino released from hospital and 'looks great'

More: Its time has come and gone; lets retire the word 'elderly'

Sarah Taddeo is the consumer watchdog reporter for USA Today Network's New York State Team.She investigates stories about your consumer rights, including scams, negligent landlords, safety issues and wayward businesses.

Got a story tip or comment? ContactSarahat STADDEO@Gannett.com or (585) 258-2774. Follow heronTwitter @Sjtaddeo.This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.Sign up today for a digital subscription.

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Buffalo man shoved by police speaks on incident, his recovery and the First Amendment - Democrat & Chronicle

A Senior Fellow on the First Amendment with the Freedom Forum said it's complicated, and will ultimately be up to courts to decide.

WASHINGTON DC Police confirmed they used tear gas and sting balls against protesters at Black Lives Matter Plaza Saturday and Sunday night. But, emergency police reform legislation signed into law prohibits those tactics against First Amendment protesters.

WUSA 9 spoke with Gene Policinski, Senior Fellow on the First Amendment with the Freedom Forum, for insight on the legality of police using those tactics.

I dont think you can craft an ordinance that would say according to this set of acts at this given moment, that was illegal," Poilcinski said. "Thats really why we have courts.

Policinski said the courts would look at the ordinance language and the evidence available, like videos from demonstrators or body camera footage from police, to determine if using the chemical irritant, in this case, was legal.

Those representing police would say the ordinance allows police to use chemical irritants and other non-lethal force if they are in fear of bodily injury," Policinski said. "Probably a reasonable person, the standard, will say if its dark and theres a huge crowd of people and things are being thrown the standard I think were going to hold police based on what the courts have done in the past is tilted to some degree in their favor, because they recognize how difficult it is to be a police officer.

DC Police Chief Peter Newsham said his officers were only responding to objects being thrown at them when they deployed tear gas and OC spray.

Police officers are humans, too," Chief Newsham said. "When you throw bricks and rocks and bottles and urine, and you set fires, there is going to be a police reaction. So folks who want to suggest or paint a picture that this was somehow peaceful and the police indiscriminately used munitions against them, theyre not being honest.

Some people who were out protesting over the weekend, like Arianna Evans with Freedom Fighters DC, denied the assertion that they used violence against police.

Were absolutely not going to go out with the intention of harming police officers," Evans said. "We absolutely understand that right now we have to live under this system of law and that its not going to be productive for what we want. And what we want is real structural changefor the officers to comply with the rules that are put on them.

She is left wondering if the ordinance holds any power to protect people protesting like she said she was.

I think a good way to look at the ordinance is that its a part of a series of actions, so theres an ordinance on the books that make it clear what police should do, and makes clear that they should not use these non-lethal weapons or chemical irritants to break up an assembly that is simply peaceful, that is First Amendment," Policinski said. "And remember the First Amendment does not protect violent conduct. It protects peaceably assemblingI think these are all part of a step by step process by which we try to provide greater protection.

He said for anyone who feels like their First Amendment rights were violated in instances like this, there are a few steps they can take to give themselves the best chance of winning their legal argument.

These cases almost always depended on the exact facts rather than saying having a broad policy that you can have under any circumstance, so again preserving the facts through video and eyewitness testimony is very important," he said.

The author of the original reform bill, Councilmember Charles Allen, sent the following statement in response to this weekend's events:

Everyone is welcome in the District to peacefully protest, and I expect the Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to hold that right sacred, especially when the message is in support of police accountability for racism and brutality. Dialogue, passion, outrage they are all healthy and necessary to weave a new fabric to our country that disavows white supremacy. That said, I do not condone violence violence by or against government; is it not the path to change. It will only further divide us and close off opportunities for accountability and healing. My focus is to ensure we act together to make change by reimagining public safety.

To that end, we have a hearing set on police reform legislation on October 15. This will hearing will include my own bill on updating the Districts rioting laws and legislation to restrict the use of riot gear and chemical irritants by police. I was hesitant to include the banning of chemical irritants in the original bill in June (youll recall they were added by amendment) because we needed more time to properly craft the law to be responsive to all of the complexities of protests.

Read this article:

Was it legal for police to use tear gas against protesters with emergency reform legislation in place? - WUSA9.com

SPARTA, NJ- Some members of the Sparta Board of Education are seeking to have a policy to address board member attire at board meetings. It appears board member Kurt Morris choice of wearing a Make America Great Again hat to the July board of education meeting has spurred the issue.

At the August meeting in Mohawk Avenue School, board member Kylen Anderson asked to have a policy addressing political attire at the board table.

I would like to propose that the board institute a policy that board members should refrain from wearing anything with political commentary at the board table, Anderson said. I think it is distracting. I think it is in poor taste. I think it takes away from the reason we are here.

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Initially board of education president Kim Bragg said it would be referred to the Policy and Personnel committee but on advice of board counsel Mark Zitomer, she polled board members first to determine whether or not a majority wished to do so.

Board member Kate Matteson asked if board policy had been reviewed since the July meeting to see if it addresses wearing political attire at the dais. Bragg said it had not been discussed in committee because she was waiting to get advice from the boards attorney.

Anderson, Jen Grana, Niamh Grano, Matteson and Jay Ventresca all said they would like to discuss having policy governing board member attire at the next committee meeting.

In the straw poll, Grana and Grano proposed a policy that took a broader look at proposing appropriate attire in general taking into consideration the first amendment and all that stuff.

Board member Robert Zywicki said he thought the board of education should be focused on getting the kids back in school as safely and as swiftly as possible with the teachers. Anything else is a distraction from that right now.

Bragg said she also felt this is something that could wait, but the vote supported the topic being discussed in committee.

Board of education members received a letter from 36 people that said a photo and several corroborating eyewitnesses documented a board member wore at TRUMP [sic] hat. They said they were beyond disappointed to learn this, acknowledging they were not at the meeting.

The letter refers to Morris as the accused board member and said while he has been reasonably identified, they asked the board member himself and the board of education president both respond publicly with acknowledgement and ownership.

Further, this group said they want the board members to adhere to stricter standards and procedures in the future.

In an emailed response to the community members who sent the letter regarding Morris hat, Bragg said, Mr. Morris choice is protected under the First Amendment. As such I have no authority over what he or any board member wears. Sparta Board of Education policy regarding dress code only applies to staff and students because students are considered to be a captive audience when in school. This is very different than a public board meeting which is a forum that is open to everyone.

The letter from community members accuses Morris of having violated New Jersey Code of Ethics for school board members. They said they had discussed filing a complaint but decided to wait for the board of education to address it.

Morris, speaking as an individual not representing the board of education, said he was advised by Zitomer that there was no ethics violation, nor was there a policy violation because there is no policy that discusses what board members wear.

After conferring with our attorney, I wish to explain that wearing a hat which supports the President or any political party is not an ethics violation, Bragg said. The Code of Ethics prohibits members from surrendering their independent judgement to partisan political groups. Wearing the hat of a political party is very different than surrendering ones independent judgement. Rather, it is protected speech under the First Amendment.

a public board of education meeting is no place for personal, political statements, motivations or gains, the letter from community members said. While we may debate whether there are negative implications that apply far beyond the scope of politics with this particular choice of garb, we ask that ALL [emphasis included] political symbols and logos are banned from any future BOE meetings going forward.

The people who signed the letter include: Kaitlin and Aaron Gagnon, Robert and Suz Stone, Erin Moore, Ellie Hartranft, Anne ODair, Heather Scott-Mason, Kimberly and Kevin Barresi, Kate Saelma, Victoria Bustamante, Kailee Gori, Fallon Villamor, Dorota Ellington, Jessica LaGrave, Emily Shuss, Erin Lambert, Kelly and Chris Lapp, Amy and George Ryan, Amy Henrie, Julie Knapp, Dana Gulino, Kate and DJ Fresso, Julia and Jim Kelly, Joanne Stott-Derby, Kimberly Noel, Vanessa Walsh, Beth and Paul Hughes, Pat Schutz and Michele Van Allen (BOE of Hardyston)

Kaitlin Gagnon said in an interview with TAPinto Sparta they "would hope the same standards apply for the other end of the political spectrum." She said the purpose of their letter was that they did not want ahat or any political attire to be a distraction and this was explained in subsequentemails to the board of education members.

"Humbly, we hope a new standard can be developed," Gagnon said. "We hope it can be resolved quickly."

Morris personally received an additional email from Henrie, sent to his personal email address. Also speaking as an individual and not representing the board of education, Morris said in his response to her, I have never, nor would I ever surrender my independent judgement to partisan political groups. He concluded his response by asking that you judge my performance as a Sparta Board of Education member based on the votes I have made and the questions I have asked at the board table, not on the hat I wear.

Morris did not share the email from Henrie with TAPinto Sparta.

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Sparta Board of Education to Discuss Dress Code for Members Following MAGA Hat Controversy UPDATED - TAPinto.net