Forum Post: Sadly, this guy does not deserve his name: Mayor Sam Adams
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 13, 2011, 4:26 p.m. EST by qazxsw123
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Portland police dismantle 'Occupy' camps after confrontation http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45271511/
Instead of providing a safe, sanitary, if not comfortable, setting for protesters/patriots to exercise their First Amendment's rights, they wait for the worst to happen so they can move and remove. SHAME on mayors, city councils and police all over the country who have not understood the legitimate cry of their people!
Alright then, give them, offer them an alternative that meets the Constitution's intent.
There seems to be in most people's minds and definitions, a difference between assembly and permanently staying in a place. If an occupation differs from assembly, then the rights of assembly do not fully extend to the situation of an occupation.
Here's the European version of the rights of Assembly.
http://www.osce.org/odihr/24523
Definition of assembly
a. For the purposes of these Guidelines, an assembly is the intentional and temporary presence of a number of individuals in a public place that is not a building or structure for a common expressive purpose.
b. This definition should not be interpreted so as to preclude protection being extended to other types of peaceful assembly, such as assemblies taking place at publicly or privately owned premises or structures. While all types of peaceful assembly deserve protection, public assemblies that take place in public spaces that are not buildings or structures raise particular regulatory issues, and are therefore the subject of these Guidelines.
Assembly is generally thought to mean 'temporary presence of individuals in a public place'. An occupation is not a temporary presence of individuals in a public place.
Our Constitution did not include the word 'temporary' because in the context of how people lived back then, nobody tried to stay in the town square and occupy it. They would meet at various places, have meetings, then go home, that is what the Consitution was based on. Standards of established practices of people.