Mayor Whitmire Demonizes One Group Of Protestors Today-It'll Be Another Group Tomorrow

Houston City Council today referred to Council's Law & Public Safety Committee Mayor Whitmire's Anti-First Amendment ordinance that would prohibit protest at specific homes. He did not have the votes.

It was a real win for grassroots activism and Houstonians opposing the ordinance.  There were very many people at Houston City Council opposing the ordinance at public comment session yesterday. Mayor Whitmire thought he could just railroad the ordinance. The issue will be back before Council's Law & Public Safety Committee on September 10th.   

Here is a Chron.com article about the Council discussion on the matter. 

From the article--   

"The city of Houston punted on a controversial ordinance limiting protests outside of private residences, voting overwhelmingly to send the proposal to the public safety committee for further discussion after some council members sparked First Amendment concerns....The proposed ordinance, which would prohibit acts of protest within 200 feet of a targeted dwelling, landed on the city's agenda last month after months of targeted pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside of Houston Mayor John Whitmire's home,.....At a press conference Wednesday, Whitmire reportedly doubled-down on his comments, which he said had been founded on advice from the Department of Homeland Security and other higher departments. "There is intelligence reports, and I'm not going to go through it in public, that they are being paid by Iran," Whitmire said, per Houston Public Media. "It's dangerous if it's true, and I think I have a duty to protect all the neighborhoods of Houston."

Those protestors are not being paid by Iran. Nobody is paying them. Mayor Whitmire is trying to define them as terrorists or people set to do violence. He's laying the groundwork for aggressive police action towards the protestors. Who knows if he believes what he is saying or not. He rants on and on. 

Today it is the Palestinian protestors the Mayor is demonizing. Tomorrow it'll be another group. When Republicans refuse to accept election results or overturn a Harris election outcome, he'll have the police all over those protestors then as well.

Don't yield on any matter of First Amendment freedom. Not ever. And most especially not in this political climate.  
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