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Home > News > Opinion
Rewrite protest ordinance
Web posted Tuesday, June 29, 2004
| Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff
The 2003 protest ordinance the Augusta Commission wrote served its purpose well. It kept radical feminist Martha Burk and her tiny band of troops well away from the Augusta National Golf Club's main gate during last year's Masters tournament - and that, in turn, put the kibosh on any plans to try another demonstration this year.
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It couldn't have worked out better. Now it's time to let this ordinance go, and write one that will stand up on appeal. The full 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is standing behind its three-judge ruling that held Augusta's ordinance to be unconstitutional. The jurists simply didn't want to hear any more arguments on the case.
The decision that overturned U.S. District Court Judge Dudley Bowen's affirmation of the ordinance conveniently came shortly after this year's Masters was over. Now city commissioners must decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bad idea. It would almost certainly be a waste of time and taxpayer money, because there's no reason to believe the Supremes want to hear the case any more than their lower court brethren did.
Mayor Bob Young has the right idea - "amend the ordinance and move on." There's no rush to get it done either, not with the next Masters still 10 months off. Commissioners should take their time working with the city attorney and constitutional scholars to develop a fair, reasonable and workable ordinance to govern peaceable demonstrations - not just for Masters time, but any time.
Savannah and Brunswick came up with protest ordinances that passed muster for the G-8 summit, an event that held the potential to be a lot more disruptive and dangerous than anything Martha Burk could ever carry off. If those cities can write a constitutional protest ordinance, then so can Augusta.
--From the Wednesday, June 30, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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