Free Speech Zones
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Nikki Benoit, who happens to be the same age as I am, was recently arrested for expressing her right to free speech: leafleting.
Here’s the news story:
A vegan activist passing out leaflets on campus said her rights were violated when she was searched by campus security officers and arrested Thursday in front of the Library. [...]
Benoit, who said she has visited more than 80 campuses to pass out leaflets, added that this is the first time she has been arrested and escorted off a campus.The activist said that when she has been approached at other campuses she has been allowed to stay and hand out information once she informs police of what she called her constitutional rights. Several attorneys have advised her that handing out leaflets on campuses is legal, she added.
Vegan Outreach says that this arrest “gives her pro-bono attorney the opportunity to sue on behalf of Nikki’s – and other leafleters’ – constitutional rights.”
A number of leafleters online have commented that they’ve never been arrested for leafleting, even when they’re outside of “free speech zones.” I’m one of those leafleters. I regularly leaflet inside and outside established “free speech zones” because I like to move around (especially if there’s music). But I’ve never been arrested for leafleting. I’ve never been arrested for anything!
That said, I’ve also never refused to move. If I’ve been asked/told to move, I usually move. If I’ve been told to leave, then I usually speak to a supervisor. If I speak to a supervisor, they usually protect my rights and say that I can go back to leafleting.
How about you? What are your thoughts on restricted speech? Should leafleters have the right to leaflet in public spaces or should they be restricted to “free speech zones”? What do you think about Ms. Benoit’s case? Do you think she’ll win?
I thought the entirety of the US was a free speech zone. I can see the founders rolling in their graves.
I can understand restrictions based on safety. For example, when I leafleting in the NY Subways, I was only allowed in certain places and that makes sense because the stations can get very crowded and there is extreme danger when it’s very crowded. But on college campuses, the restrictions should only be around things like elevators and escalators, that sort of thing.
I’m with Allen… Aside from “safety” zones – Everywhere should have access to free-speech. When you start regulating it arbitrarily it’s a slippery slope to 1st Amendment violations.
Yes, I have been “shooed” away and I moved as requested. But in hindsight, being within my “right” I wished I had stood my ground. I was not risking anyone’s “safety” – There was no just cause to ask me to relocate.
I know Nikki and have leafleted with her. I can attest that she is the most polite, mannerly, respectful and kindest advocate you’d ever want to meet. In fact, when I see the photograph of the officer going through her bag I can just hear her sincerely saying “Yes, Ma’m/ No Ma’m”. That is just the kind of person she is… I can’t imagine any “trouble” happening over her making.