The First Amendment and the Pot Protest

The city of Boston has a problem: MassCann's request for a permit to rally
on Boston Common. The organization's purpose is to advocate the
legalization of marijuana and, for nine years, it has held a rally to do
just that. This year, the Parks Department first denied the permit, then
approved it with conditions. Now the matter is before the courts.

The issue is whether some conditions the city wishes to impose on MassCann
are discriminatory and have the effect of denying the group its First
Amendment rights. The City wants to dictate what the organization says to
the attending crowd about marijuana and the law. But you can't require an
organization to say or not say something.

The Boston Common, like Hyde Park in London, is a gathering place for
people with all sorts of causes. Attendees should come knowing that, if
they break the law, they will be arrested. But it should also be clear that
Boston Common is today, as it has been for over 300 years, a place for the
free exchange of ideas, no matter how radical or politically unpopular.

Copyright 1998 WCVB TV.

Checked-by: Richard Lake