With the political arena heating up for the 2012 election season, I figured that this would be a good time to put together a few notes on what is required to get a "First Amendment Freedoms Rally" off of the ground. This would not be something limited to countering things like Gov. Perry's "The Response" rally or dealing with events organized by groups who have something like this: "The purpose of this siege is to change the atmosphere over the city of Washington D.C. through our worship, preparing the way for our legislators to function on a different playing field as we release 40 days of light over the city" on their event website. It is something that we might want to consider using as a model for when we stand up for the First Amendment rights of ALL United States citizens to worship as they please, speak as they please and peaceably assemble. And yes, this may mean that sometimes we may have to support the rights of people who want to take away those rights from us. WE cannot pick and choose whose rights are valid if we are to keep our own integrity.
Step one in this process -- You need to identify the reason why this event is needed at this particular time. Is it because you are countering a group that is exclusionary? Then be clear in your organizing that THIS event is about countering that group but not all events will be. Is it to commemorate the signing of the Bill of Rights? Then you need to make sure that you are lauding the framers of those amendments for their foresight. Is it to commemorate the sacrifices of people who have died to PRESERVE those freedoms (such as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)? Then you need to make sure people know that this is to continue their work.
Step two in the process -- You need to determine a date (or dates) for the event. This may seem self-evident but it is an extremely important part of the process. If this is to be an inter-faith event the organizers need to be very aware that observant members of other faiths may feel they cannot attend your event because it conflicts with worship.
For an example of what I mean, the date the DC40 has Colorado as it's "point" state during it's 51-day 'prayer seige' (yes, they expanded to 51 days from the original 40 so each US state as well as the 'District of Christ' could be on point for a day during this event) happens to be on Saturday October 15, 2011. If you were to invite observant Jews to participate in a counter-rally on that day, you would have to remember that it IS on the Jewish Sabbath. The same would hold true for Muslims on Fridays as well. This can lead to having a smaller crowd, as well as people asking why "fill-in-the-blank" faith was not invited.
The answer to this is simple. Invite members of the group, while emphasizing to them that if they feel that worship is more important to them because of timing that worship SHOULD take precedence. This allows you to say that "fill-in-the-blank" group was indeed invited, but because the event is about the rights of individuals under the First Amendment, that they chose to worship rather than rally.
This of course, leads right into Step Three of the process. If this is to be an inter-faith event being promoted, you need to promote it to members of those other faiths. This is probably going to be one of the hardest steps for a lot of people. As a Pagan, I would need to write letters to members of the local Jewish and Muslim communities if I was doing a counter-rally to a group who states "the First Amendment only was meant to apply to Christians". The reason that this can be difficult is that you often need to counter religious misgivings to get the message across that you are indeed working for a common cause.
Step four is where things can sometimes get tricky. We are guaranteed the right of "peaceable assembly" under the First Amendment. However, states and municipalities also have the right to ask that these types of events have permits so that the police know of the event and can have a potential heads-up in case of problems. YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR LOCAL ORDINANCES STATE ABOUT CROWD SIZE IN REGARDS TO IF A PERMIT IS NECESSARY!!! In the City and County of Denver where I live, "A public assembly permit is required when an event has 50 or more people. This provides adequate notice to the City about logistics and safety issues and plans can be made accordingly for public safety and services." http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/701/documents/Special%20Event%20Guide/PR-2.pdf
This is not in an attempt to curtail people's rights to assemble, but to help ensure the safety of all involved. If you only have forty-five CONFIRMED attendees, you might still want to get the permit to cover your bases in a case like this. The example of the City and County of Denver (where the state capital of Colorado is located) is not going to hold true in all areas of the country -- you need to do your research and obtain needed permits well before the scheduled date of your event if at all possible. Having actually gotten a permit will go a long way to establishing the legitimacy of your event to both the police and the media no matter if the outcome is not peaceful because of factors outside your control.
Finally, you need to tell people to check their intentionally confrontational attitudes at the door. I know, this whole blog has been about organizing an event that by it's nature will be controversial and potentially provoke confrontation. Here's where you -- as the organizer -- need to make sure that everyone involved in YOUR event knows that they CANNOT start any confrontation. A participant is always allowed to defend themselves, but if you are not actively provoking an attack, YOU will stay on the right side of the law -- which is what you and your event NEED to to if the message you are trying to get through will BE the message you get through.
Step one in this process -- You need to identify the reason why this event is needed at this particular time. Is it because you are countering a group that is exclusionary? Then be clear in your organizing that THIS event is about countering that group but not all events will be. Is it to commemorate the signing of the Bill of Rights? Then you need to make sure that you are lauding the framers of those amendments for their foresight. Is it to commemorate the sacrifices of people who have died to PRESERVE those freedoms (such as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)? Then you need to make sure people know that this is to continue their work.
Step two in the process -- You need to determine a date (or dates) for the event. This may seem self-evident but it is an extremely important part of the process. If this is to be an inter-faith event the organizers need to be very aware that observant members of other faiths may feel they cannot attend your event because it conflicts with worship.
For an example of what I mean, the date the DC40 has Colorado as it's "point" state during it's 51-day 'prayer seige' (yes, they expanded to 51 days from the original 40 so each US state as well as the 'District of Christ' could be on point for a day during this event) happens to be on Saturday October 15, 2011. If you were to invite observant Jews to participate in a counter-rally on that day, you would have to remember that it IS on the Jewish Sabbath. The same would hold true for Muslims on Fridays as well. This can lead to having a smaller crowd, as well as people asking why "fill-in-the-blank" faith was not invited.
The answer to this is simple. Invite members of the group, while emphasizing to them that if they feel that worship is more important to them because of timing that worship SHOULD take precedence. This allows you to say that "fill-in-the-blank" group was indeed invited, but because the event is about the rights of individuals under the First Amendment, that they chose to worship rather than rally.
This of course, leads right into Step Three of the process. If this is to be an inter-faith event being promoted, you need to promote it to members of those other faiths. This is probably going to be one of the hardest steps for a lot of people. As a Pagan, I would need to write letters to members of the local Jewish and Muslim communities if I was doing a counter-rally to a group who states "the First Amendment only was meant to apply to Christians". The reason that this can be difficult is that you often need to counter religious misgivings to get the message across that you are indeed working for a common cause.
Step four is where things can sometimes get tricky. We are guaranteed the right of "peaceable assembly" under the First Amendment. However, states and municipalities also have the right to ask that these types of events have permits so that the police know of the event and can have a potential heads-up in case of problems. YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR LOCAL ORDINANCES STATE ABOUT CROWD SIZE IN REGARDS TO IF A PERMIT IS NECESSARY!!! In the City and County of Denver where I live, "A public assembly permit is required when an event has 50 or more people. This provides adequate notice to the City about logistics and safety issues and plans can be made accordingly for public safety and services." http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/701/documents/Special%20Event%20Guide/PR-2.pdf
This is not in an attempt to curtail people's rights to assemble, but to help ensure the safety of all involved. If you only have forty-five CONFIRMED attendees, you might still want to get the permit to cover your bases in a case like this. The example of the City and County of Denver (where the state capital of Colorado is located) is not going to hold true in all areas of the country -- you need to do your research and obtain needed permits well before the scheduled date of your event if at all possible. Having actually gotten a permit will go a long way to establishing the legitimacy of your event to both the police and the media no matter if the outcome is not peaceful because of factors outside your control.
Finally, you need to tell people to check their intentionally confrontational attitudes at the door. I know, this whole blog has been about organizing an event that by it's nature will be controversial and potentially provoke confrontation. Here's where you -- as the organizer -- need to make sure that everyone involved in YOUR event knows that they CANNOT start any confrontation. A participant is always allowed to defend themselves, but if you are not actively provoking an attack, YOU will stay on the right side of the law -- which is what you and your event NEED to to if the message you are trying to get through will BE the message you get through.
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