Ordinance against sidewalk protests stifles free speech

I looked up to see a tight-faced Pop. I was confused until he said, "There was a time I only had one pair of pants. Do you think he wears them every day because he has a choice? You don't have to remind him he's poor; he knows."

I managed a "Sorry, Pop," and went to my room. I closed the door, sat on the floor and cried. I was so ashamed. How could I not know? It was obvious, but I was too busy mocking to see it.

I remembered that as I read the mayor's response to the idea he meet with a homeless man who opposes his homeless policies. Mr. Sullivan said the man would have to "clean up and make himself presentable as a good, self-worthy human being would do."

I thought about the boy from school. He was more than those dirty pants, but that's all I saw. Pop was trying to teach us that our worth as human beings isn't reflected by our attire. Or if it is, it's just a coincidence. Our clothing, stature, employment, IQ, abilities, talents, bank accounts, campaign contributions or previous crimes may or may not get us a date with the mayor, but our rights under the First Amendment should be blind to those things.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westborough Baptist church. The father of a fallen soldier had sued Phelps after Phelps picketed the son's funeral with anti-gay signs. Phelps regularly pickets the funerals of soldiers to condemn America for its tolerance of LGBT citizens.

Phelps goes against everything I know as patriotic or humane. He's a bully, a hater and an opportunist. But he has the right to parade his hate because American soldiers, including those over whose bodies he protests, swore to "support and uphold the Constitution."

People who say, "ice cream is yummy and flowers are pretty" don't often have to defend their right to free speech. Freedom of speech only matters when people say unpopular things or, in this case, something the mayor doesn't like.

The mayor and his buddies are trying to pass his new anti- civil rights ordinance by making an issue of the checkered history of the protester, John Martin. Mr. Martin is not only homeless, he is a registered sex offender. This does not make Mr. Martin the ideal poster child for free speech. But this isn't about Mr. Martin's background, or the thin-skinned, Palinesque condition of the mayor. It's about the right of a citizen -- any citizen -- to talk back to the government.

Much of the legislation and focus of the mayor's time in office has been on the homeless. Not to solve the problem, but to hide it. The mayor has a special knack for fighting symptoms while ignoring root causes. Putting your boot on the throat of someone powerless is probably a lot easier than finding solutions.

But let's step back for a moment from the mayor-Martin standoff. Whatever your views on the homeless problem -- and it is a problem -- the mayor is about to pass a law in response to his now-notorious critic that usurps the right of any of us to make a political statement by sitting on a public sidewalk.

What about the First Amendment? You know, it says the government shall "make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... or the right of the people peaceably to assemble ..."

This is an ordinance with the specific purpose of abridging freedom of speech. Sure, there are exceptions. If you have a heart attack, you can lie down on the sidewalk without risk of arrest. And you're legal if you use a wheelchair or a walker and need to park yourself on the sidewalk for a minute. Or, if you've gone to the city and gotten official approval to engage in your own personal public event, no problem.

Welcome to Mayor Sullivan's new world order of free speech. How do you get it? Request permission 30 days in advance, pay $65 and make sure you don't offend him. (The good news? There isn't a demonstration dress code yet.)

Where are you Libertarians and liberty-defending Tea Party Patriots? You want to protect individual freedom, well here's your chance. Read the ordinance: from the day it is passed, there will no longer be FREE speech, there will only be PERMITTED speech.

Is that what the Greatest Generation bled to defend: Speech that doesn't offend Dan Sullivan?

OK, armchair patriots, it's time to stand and deliver: Tuesday night, July 26, Anchorage Assembly chambers, Loussac Library. Testify against this unneeded, unconstitutional and anti-American ordinance. You don't even need a permit -- yet.

Shannyn Moore is host of "The Shannyn Moore Show" on KOAN 1020 AM and 95.5 FM radio, and the television show "Moore Up North" on KYES Channel 5.