Mary Cheh's new law means that you can't wear a mask outside of your residence

[Anonymous]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/2010/11/mask-wearing-protestors-dc-can-now-be-arrested

[Anonymous]

OP either you cannot read or the title of your article was intentionally misleading.

BTW--I am glad for the law. Now people like crazy PETA and KKK cannot scream hateful rhetoric in front of my home without me recognizing who they are.

[Anonymous]

title of your post, not article

[jsteele]

The subject of the post is needlessly misleading. That seems to be becoming a more and more common practice in the political forum and, without checking, I wouldn't be surprised if it is often the same poster doing the misleading. That said, this bill is ridiculous. It appears to be aimed at one group. If Cheh and other council members don't want people protesting outside of private homes, then they should make protesting outside private homes illegal (or at least try to do so). Making only protesting in masks illegal would allow exactly the same protesters to return and repeat the exact same activity without masks. What if the protesters return wearing heavy make-up? That's probably legal. We currently live in a society in which anonymous donations to Karl Rove's organization can affect the outcome of an election, but anonymous individuals can't stand outside Karl Rove's house and protest that fact. That hardly seems fair.

[Anonymous]

Think she's a law prof so maybe she's thought this one out so it'll be hard to take down.

[Anonymous]

I don't know....try going weeks or months with the protests going outside your neighbors home (thus impacting you) and come back and let me know how you feel about this.

I support it wholly.

[Anonymous]

She's not only a law professor, she specializes in constitutional law and has advised numerous foreign governments on their constitutions.

And she works her ass off for the city.

[jsteele]

The issue is not Mary Cheh -- someone for whom I have great respect. The issue is whether the bill is a good one or not. I don't think anyone would be happy about protesters being outside their house. If, as a society we decide that we no longer want to protect freedom of speech on public grounds, we can outlaw it. But, Cheh apparently doesn't want to take that step. Nor are most of us.

She only wants to target one group. She is basically telling one group that it no longer has the same rights as everyone else and she is providing the police a means to arrest members of that group for exercising their constitutionally-protected rights. I disagree with that approach. That doe not mean Cheh is mean, nasty, and stupid. It simply suggests she is less dedicated in protecting our rights than I am.

[Anonymous]

I had Professor Cheh for criminal procedure in law school (GW). You might not agree with her politics but I can tell you that she is incredibly knowledgeable and fair-minded and is totally dedicated to making DC a great place to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP either you cannot read or the title of your article was intentionally misleading.

BTW--I am glad for the law. Now people like crazy PETA and KKK cannot scream hateful rhetoric in front of my home without me recognizing who they are.

I'm fascinated: why is PETA screaming hateful rhetoric in front of your home?