Why do you need a protest permit to protest in the U.S?

[Honesty]

Shouldn’t the act of protesting be protected by the 1st Amendment? The reason I’m asking is because during the NATO summit, I heard that protesters needed to get permission from the City to protest. That strikes me as unAmerican. I’ve included the text of the 1st Amendment below:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Thanks

[Fear_Itself]

@Honesty

Shouldn’t the act of protesting be protected by the 1st Amendment?

The Supreme Court says no:

It was not until 1939 that the Supreme Court finally declared that the use of streets and sidewalks for political assembly and speech was constitutionally protected. And when it made this declaration it immediately qualified it. Public speech and assembly, the Court declared, has always to be “exercised in subordination to the general comfort and convenience, and in consonance with peace and good order….”

In the years since, the Supreme and lower courts have found “general comfort and convenience … peace and good order” to encompass everything from minimizing the opportunity for violence to not unduly delaying shoppers doing their Saturday rounds; from keeping contentious groups apart to keeping the traffic moving; and from keeping antiabortion activists away from clinic entrances to assuring the grass in a park is not trampled. As long as rules and regulations are “content neutral” (they don’t, apparently, punish viewpoint) and as long as they do not “burden more speech than is necessary to achieve a narrowly tailored end” (they don’t accomplish a goal that could be more easily accomplished through some other means), courts will sanction them. The protest permit system is now the primary means of assuring order by regulating free speech.

[Lukeinva]

The 1st Amendment is one of this country’s greatest freedoms (maybe I’m not wording that correctly) but in some countries speaking out against your government will get you executed. There are, however, some rules to follow so your demonstration doesn’t become a riot. In Washington DC almost any protest is allowed to take place and as long as you follow the rules the police will let you have your say.

“…The right of the people peaceably to assemble…”

If your demonstration gets out of hand you are not following the spirit of the 1st Amendment.

[Honesty]

@Fear_Itself

The Supreme Court says no:

Thanks for sharing this! Guess that answers my question.

[pravnik]

The usual phrase used is “time, place and manner,” sometimes abbreviated TPM. The First Amendment is subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions. The government can’t tell you that you can’t protest or dictate what you can and can’t protest about, but they can tell you that you have to protest at certain times, can’t block public streets, can’t violate noise ordinances, have to get a permit, etc. See Cox v. New Hamsphire, 312 U.S. 569 (1941).

[John_Mace]

@Lukeinva

The 1st Amendment is one of this country’s greatest freedoms (maybe I’m not wording that correctly) but in some countries speaking out against your government will get you executed. There are, however, some rules to follow so your demonstration doesn’t become a riot. In Washington DC almost any protest is allowed to take place and as long as you follow the rules the police will let you have your say.

“…The right of the people peaceably to assemble…”

If your demonstration gets out of hand you are not following the spirit of the 1st Amendment.

Nor the letter!

[Mr_Downtown]

You can walk on the sidewalk carrying a protest sign, and so long as people can get past you no permit is required. But any procession that will block or close a street requires a parade permit. The government cannot pick and choose based on whether or not they like the parade group. That’s why the ACLU fought on behalf of the Nazis’ right to parade through Skokie.

A number of the NATO marches didn’t, in fact, have permits. Theoretically the organizers—if they could be identified—could be ticketed for violating a city ordinance.

[Chessic_Sense]

The permit isn’t really for permission to protest. You can do that any time. It’s for permission to block streets, request police protection, violate noise ordinances with speakers, etc. You can always protest…provided you don’t break other laws. The permit allows you to break some laws while you protest.