Demand Progress

Don’t let state governments criminalize free speech and protest!

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    Don’t let state governments criminalize free speech and protest!

    Petition to every governor in all 50 states:
    Across the country, young people are engaging in social and political movements to reduce gun violence, including protests, rallies and large marches like the upcoming March for Our Lives. But meanwhile, their efforts are being undermined in state legislatures by a wave of anti-protest bills designed to squash political dissent. We ask every governor to pledge to veto any measure to prevent students’ constitutional right to free speech.

    The youth-led movement against gun violence is kicking up this month with the national “March for Our Lives” on March 24th. But while those brave young people rally at the nation’s capitol, many state legislatures are quietly drafting bills designed to curb protests and silence First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.

    Sign the petition: Stop state governments from criminalizing activism.

    Ever since water protectors stood firm at Standing Rock, multinational companies have been lobbying state and federal lawmakers to pass laws to make it harder for people to protest. With the help of ALEC, the Koch brothers-funded project to push far-right legislation, 31 states have proposed anti-protest legislation.1

    Some of these bills, like those introduced in Washington and North Carolina, would define political demonstrations like rallies and sit-ins as “economic terrorism.”2 Bills pending in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri would criminalize protesting on highways and streets, carrying fines as high as $7,000 and up to 5 years in prison.3

    Sign the petition: Stop state governments from criminalizing activism.

    So far, the Koch brothers and pipeline companies like Energy Transfer Partners (the company behind the North Dakota Access Pipeline), lead the lobbying efforts to block protesters. But make no mistake: as our nation’s young people continue to effectively organize for gun violence prevention, it’s only a matter of time before gun manufacturers and the NRA jump on this anti-protest bandwagon as well.

    Sign the petition: Stop state governments from criminalizing activism.

     

    Sources:
    1. National Lawyers Guild, “Conservative-led Anti-Protest Legislation Already Doubled Since Last Year,” February 15, 2018.
    2. The Hill, “The assault on environmental protest,” March 2, 2018.
    3. International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, “US Protest Law Tracker,” February 27, 2018.