Female Activists Stand Tall Against Opposition

At the Longmont (CO) Peace Rally on 4/18/10, I held a sign stating, “STOP FUNDING WARS.” On the same street corner, my sister activist’s sign read, “HEALTHCARE NOT WAR.”

A man walked up to me and asked, “Could we have a peaceful conversation?”

I replied, “Always.”

To set the scene, this man walked from a parking lot about ½ a block away and crossed the street to confront my octogenarian sister activist and me. The closest corner from the parking lot was staffed by two articulate Vietnam combat veterans, one of whom is an obvious disabled veteran (double amputee). The other corners had multiple peace activists with at least one male veteran. Isn’t it curious that he came out of his way to talk to two female activists? We talked for about 10 minutes. A condensed version of our conversation follows.

“Your type of thinking delayed the United States from entering World War II to fight the Nazis, which caused millions of people to be killed.”

“Do you think I am opposed to peacekeeping and defense?”

“There were WMDs in Iraq.”

“Really! What is your credible news source?”

“A soldier I know told me. Many people know this.”

“What is your credible news source?”

“There is a book written by a Christian man about this.”

“Who is the author; and what is the book’s title?”

He didn’t answer that. “You should read things other than from the liberal media conspiracy.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Credible news sources are unbiased. Would you like to talk with some of our veterans about our stances? You might find their thoughts interesting on war and peace.”

“No, they’re probably disgruntled.” He walked away.

What was his motivation for confronting two women? Why didn’t he want to talk to our male activists and/or our male veterans activists? I think he wanted to, in his perception, intimidate the weakest targets. But the women activists stood their ground and the opponent walked away.

Submitted by Marta Turnbull 4/18/2010

Activists' Legal Rights

ACLU and Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center Provide Legal Help to the Bolder County Peace Group

What are activists rights regarding Freedom of Speech?

One recent February morning (2/27/10) in Lafayette, CO, a town police officer told Boulder County Peace Group activists that they couldn’t stand on the pedestrian islands (at the intersection of S. Boulder Road and Highway 287) where they were holding peace and anti-war signs. They were also told that they needed to remove the signs stuck into the ground along the roads at the intersection. Just a few minutes earlier and couple of blocks north of the BCPG rally at the Emma Street overpass, the officer told two activists that they could not hang an anti-war banner over the bridge for the drivers on Highway 287 to read.

I sent an email to the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center describing the circumstances and asked, “What are activists rights regarding these situations?” The RMPJC forwarded the email to an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union. He called the RMPJC with the following information.

Unfortunately, he said, in jurisdictions with medians and islands, it is standard practice to not allow people to stand on them for any longer than to wait for traffic or a light change. It is considered a safety issue. The ACLU has taken cases like this to court, and has lost every time. Jurisdictions make these laws as a safety precaution, and the court always upholds them.

With the signs, he said, if it is in the city's (or any other jurisdiction's) right of way, posting signs and sticking signs in the ground is prohibited - regardless of what the signs say. Political campaign signs, panhandling signs, event announcements and protest signs are all able to be removed by the jurisdiction in charge.

Hanging banners over highways, however, is another matter. The ACLU has found this to be legal in most places.

How did the activists deal with these circumstances?

The banner holders did the right thing. They politely confronted the officer asking her to talk to the sergeant in charge because hanging banners at overpasses is legal. The officer confirmed that this is true.

Instead of continuing to stand at the intersection, the activists decided to cross the streets with the lights when properly indicated. This creative solution was legally permitted and got them more attention.

Many thanks to the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union for their help.

Submitted by: Marta Turnbull 4/4/10