Activist Groups Sue NYC

The National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) and the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) have filed a lawsuit in New Yorkto obtain a permit for a August 28 rally for civil rights in Central Park. United For Peace And Justice has also filed suit, demanding the right to assemble in Central Park August 29 and to march past Madison Square Garden, the site of the Republican National Convention. The city has denied the permit requests and asked that the protestors demonstrate along the West Side Highway. Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited concerns over security and potential damage to the park's grass.

First we had the DNC protestors in Boston confined to a "free-speech zone" that amounted to a fenced in pen. Now concerns for grass are eroding free speech. Why is it that citizens who choose to mobilize for political reasons are discriminated against and looked down upon in this country? While the occasional protestor may damage property, the vast majority of activists are peaceful and law-abiding individuals who want nothing more than to voice their opinions, and society needs to do everything possible to preserve that sacred right. Most protestors should be respected, not villified, for exercising their constitutional rights.