Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights. State officials countered that the new rule, quietly instituted just last month, was intended to save money.
The update to permitting guidelines on the Montana.gov site, which has not been previously reported, states that public events requiring a permit “may only occur on weekdays and between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., excluding holidays.”
The revisions apply to all state-owned or leased spaces or grounds at the Capitol Complex. The policy requires a permit for any public event that uses “state resources, requires setup of any structures, materials, displays, or requires clean-up.” A public event is defined as “any event that is open to the public and to which the public will have full access.”
I have been the person on multiple occasions who goes to the State Capitol and the City Police and puts his name on the documents that says we’re going to have a large gathering please give us a permit.
It’s a reasonable thing to require, when they’re being reasonable – for example, the city might want the big Pro-Racism rally to be on a different day than the Armed Antifa rally.
But if they’re obviously doing it Because They Can:
Frankly, I think the very first time any government started to demand a “permit” or designate a “free speech zone,” it should’ve triggered massive protests that were pointedly unpermitted and outside the zone.
Your job should not exist, as a matter of principle.