People familiar with the “Special Event” permitting process in Greensboro and with Gov. Roy Cooper’s restrictions due to COVID-19 have asked how the recent protests in Greensboro could have been held legally.
The city regulations require people to apply for a special event permit at least 60 days in advance of that event and that was not done for the recent protests. Also, Cooper’s Executive Order 141 limits outdoor gatherings to no more than 25 people. The protest in LeBauer Park on Sunday, June 7 attracted a crowd estimated at 5,000.
The short answer as to why the protests were legal is that the First Amendment states that people have the right “peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Because of that First Amendment right, Greensboro’s special event ordinance has an exception for “Demonstrations that do not involve the use of vehicles, animals, fireworks, pyrotechnics or equipment other than sound equipment.” The special events coordinator is supposed to be notified 48 hours in advance of the event, but there is no requirement for a permit.
The First Amendment is also the answer for Executive Order 141, which unlike previous executive orders dealing with the COVID-19 crisis has “Section 4. Exemptions from This Executive Order. Worship, religious, and spiritual gatherings, funeral ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and other activities constituting the exercise of First Amendment rights are exempt from all the requirements of this Executive Order …”
The executive order “strongly urges” people participating in exempted activities to practice social distancing and avoid holding mass gatherings.
So the people peacefully participating in the protests were not required to have a permit for the protests and were strongly urged but not required to comply with Cooper’s executive order.
Greensboro Special Events Coordinator Kendrick Mayes said that while people have to apply for a permit to close streets for events, in the case of demonstrations the Greensboro police will close streets if necessary as a matter of public safety.
He said that when it is a matter of public safety, it is a police decision and not something that his office handles.
Great to see that lots of folks are out expressing their opinion, without Big Cooper’s permission.
That’s what Ace Speedway are doing, and Governor’s take them to Court. Remember this in November Folk!!!
What has been happening through out Greensboro and the rest of the Country is NOT PROTESTS, but Criminal Activity. Peaceful protests do not result in Looting, Arson, Rape, Assault, and Murder. This is pure anarchy, using a very awful and serious incident as an excuse to riot, burn down buildings, loot business and stores, assault peaceful protesters, rape standers by, assault people, rob people, block highways, interstates, etc. ! This is Anarchy run amok. There is nothing peaceful about this, it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the death of George Floyd. You don’t commit crimes and destroy property as a “Protest”. Criminal Activity has never had and will never have legitimacy in a free society !!!
Anyone causing a major GS0 street to be closed should be arrested in my opinion… We need a Mayor who will keep our streets open. We also need a Mayor who will use the NC Guard. When our city is being destroyed…
When the ReOpen North Carolina rallies started in Raleigh, the Governor and his minions told us that we would have to social distance or they would shut it down. Roy Cooper, King of Hypocrites.
Roy has no problems with liberals gathering. It is only when conservatives gather that he gets upset. If it had been the Democratic Convention being held in Charlotte, they would have gotten everything they asked for and more. The Mayor and City Council in Greensboro are trying even harder to make protesters happy than Cooper is.
A life that matters is a person who lives a life that matters. We need a law that protects and serves the good and quality citizens in our city and state instead of the out of control protesters that are spreading violence all over the area. The roads and highways are my property because we all paid for the construction and care with our taxes. No one has the legal right to block our property. And demanding respect never works and only causes hate. Behavior that we are seeing today is causing more separating that ever and can not end in a good way.