Donald Trump wants protestors to pay a fee to march in Washington.
Who is the brilliant political mind that came up with that one? So many to choose from inside the Trump White House. Arthur Spitzer at the ACLU Blog:
According to the new proposal, the park service is considering charging demonstrators for things like “sanitation and trash removal” and “harm to turf.” But of course, the park service does not plan to charge the 45 million non-demonstrators who visit the National Mall every year for the fencing and sanitation their presence requires or for the harm to the turf that they cause.
Park service regulations distinguish between demonstrations and “special events” — things like sports events, historical reenactments, and festivals. The park service has always charged for the costs of special events, but it now claims that some demonstrations have “elements that are special events” and that it is free to charge “administrative, equipment, and monitoring costs” for those “elements.” The proposal gives no clue about what those “elements” may be, but the courts have made clear that things like singing, dancing, and music in the context of demonstrations are fully protected by the First Amendment. Such “elements” shouldn’t make a demonstration subject to fees.
Managing public lands for the benefit of the American people is what Congress funds the National Park Service to do. That includes demonstrators just as much as tourists or hikers. While the park service may be strapped for funds, it cannot balance its budget on the backs of people seeking to exercise their constitutional rights.
Spitzer and others have made the plausible claim that under Trump's proposed limitations, the March on Washington and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech would have been "too expensive to happen." But that's giving Trump way too much credit for historical awareness, and let's face it -- that's also a male framing.
Trump. Wants. No. More. Womens. Marches.
If you attended the Women's March in Washington, or ANY march there, your public comment is NEEDED.
