Bush's free speech zones have brought the ire of many that love the First Amendment of the Constitution. Those zones have allowed him to not hear your free speech, so he can more easily subvert the will of the American people. These creations should not have been here in the first place, their only significance is to create an illusion of democracy, not to foster it. The Atlanta city council tried to create an ordinance to further the legality of such zones, but they ran into some interference from the community.
From Atlanta Progressive News:
(APN) ATLANTA – The Atlanta City Council’s Community Development and Human Resources Committee (CDHR) unanimously recommended Tuesday to file the Atlanta Outdoor Events Ordinance, which called for Free Speech Zones for protesters, possibly spelling the end for the controversial proposal.
The City Council will consider the ordinance with the Committee’s recommendation to file when Members meet on June 18, 2007. Councilman Jim Maddox, who introduced the bill on behalf of Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Office, said of the recommendation: "That means [the ordinance] will be dead."
Greg Pridgeon, Mayor Franklin’s Chief of Staff, addressed the Committee and asked that Members file the ordinance so "the stakeholders who are engaged in discussion and debate are given a chance to get together and have further discussions."
"This legislation was well-intentioned and... was put forth at the request of the Administration," Pridgeon said. "We are here today to say to this audience and this Committee that we may have been premature in the ordinance we set forward."
Congratulations to the activists and concerned citizens in Atlanta that caught what the city council was up to. Free speech zones are an insult to the Constitution and the principles for which America was created on. This should serve as a warning to any legislative body that wants to give credence to the shameful practice of having 'free speech zones.' It is extremely unfortunate that they exist in the era of George W. Bush, but they should end exactly where they started.
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