Limits on protests were set after a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent monthsbecame problematic.
They were enacted Wednesday by the Miami Beach City Commission after a recommendation by Mayor Steven Meiner.
The action came two days after police directed pro-Palestinian protesters to a "free speech zone" near the Aspen Ideas climate conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center, saying they could not stand directly outside the event’s entrance for security reasons, The Miami Herald reported.
The commission’s resolution sets parameters for reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions for protests, and called for police to inform elected officials of all protests planned in the city within one hour of police learning a protest is expected to occur. Details of the regulations on protests have not yet been determined by city staff, the Herald reported.
During Wednesday’s commission meeting, Meiner cited pro-Palestinian protests at which he claimed, "our laws have been violated," the Herald reported. During a public comment period, he cut off a speaker who referred to Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists as a "genocide" and suggested that Meiner’s proposal was aimed at restricting free speech related to Israel.
"I‘m not going to sit here and allow you to make accusations about the Israeli government," Meiner, who is Jewish, said, calling the statements "antisemitic."
According to the resolution, the city seeks to balance the protection of free speech and the right to peacefully protest with "the absolute need to maintain law, order, and public safety during all protests and demonstrations."
"It is crucial that the City be more adequately prepared to lawfully manage the time, place, and manner of any future protests or demonstrations, and ensure compliance with its regulations by subjecting violators to appropriate penalties and/or sanctions," the resolution states.
Several speakers at the commission meeting said they believed the proposal was aimed at speech that city officials find objectionable, the Herald reported. In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Ward v. Rock Against Racism that governments can limit the time, place, and manner of speech if it serves a significant government interest and is "content neutral" and "narrowly tailored."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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