Updated 3:42 PM ET June 22, 2000
By David Morgan
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The City Council, wary of the
potential for violent protests during this summer's Republican
National Convention, Thursday adopted an anti-mask ordinance
modeled on a Georgia law aimed at combating the Ku Klux Klan.
After a 40-minute debate in which the bill's opponents quoted the
Declaration of Independence and warned of police oppression,
council members voted 11-5 to make it illegal for anyone to wear
a mask with the intent of threatening or intimidating another
person. Violators would face a $75 fine.
The new ordinance, which must be signed by Mayor John Street,
was crafted with help from the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish
group opposed to racial, ethnic and religious discriminaton.
Organizers of a massive one-day protest rally slated for the eve of
the July 31-Aug. 3 convention believe the ordinance will give
police an easier time rounding up law-abiding demonstrators for
the purpose of crowd control. They have vowed to wear masks
throughout the event.
On Thursday, council members who opposed to the bill warned
that its language was vague enough to violate liberties covered by
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which were
drafted in Philadelphia in the late 18th century.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the ordinance was
constitutional on its face but warned the city council in a letter that
it was prepared to sue if police arrested masked protesters simply
on suspicion.
"We ought to go home today in shame," remarked Councilman
David Cohen, an opponent of the bill who said its passage could
provoke the largest demonstrations Philadelphia has ever seen.
"What is the point of this bill? The point of the bill is to sabotage
Philadelphia, to make sure we're all on nice behavior ... when the
Republican convention comes to town."
The Republican National Convention, which will formally
nominate Texas Gov. George W. Bush for president, is viewed by
local leaders as national showcase for Philadelphia that could
help put the city back on the map of prime convention sites.
But city officials also fear a repeat of the violent protests that
erupted last year during the World Trade Organization meeting in
Seattle and earlier this year at the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.
Proponents of the law have said it would help Philadelphia police
and the FBI identify and track alleged troublemakers blamed for
wreaking havoc in other cities.
"Nobody's going to be arrested because they're wearing a mask.
The punishment is for inappropriate behavior," said Councilman
Richard Mariano, the bill's author.
The Georgia state law that served as a model for the city
ordinance was designed to force Klan members to show their
faces at hate-group rallies. That measure has already survived a
challenge before the state Supreme Court.
Tens of thousands of people from scores of different activist
groups are expected to attend a mass demonstration on July 30,
with protesters expected to travel by bus from as far away as
Montreal.
The mask bill marks only the latest confrontation between
demonstration organizers and city officials, however. Organizers
had to sue the city in federal court to secure a tree-lined boulevard
between City Hall and the Philadelphia Art Museum as their main
venue.
Now faced with mounting charges including a $10,000 city permit
and a $15,000 stage and sound system, organizers have begun to
solicit donations from their protest supporters, saying the one-day
demonstration could cost $100,000 to stage.
