Protest in Cincinnati Outside Planned Parenthood Drives City Council to Try Limiting Free Speech Rights

Here’s an interesting story out of Cincinnati yesterday by WLWT TV in Cincinnati about a protest outside the local Planned Parenthood clinic in Mount Auburn.

There’s good video coverage too. The news report appears below.
Video: Protesters Worry Ordinance Limits Free Speech

There are a thousand ways to try to restrict the right to free speech by those concerned about “politically incorrect” protests. In this case it looks like city council is proposing an “ordinance that would require protesters to carry any sign they display.”

The tenacity of those who hold to the “extreme” viewpoint that abortion kills a child and is morally wrong is what holds the pro-life movement together. We must keep up the fight to speak for those whose voice cannot be heard!

**********

Measure Would Limit Anti-Abortion Signs Near Clinic

CINCINNATI -- Protesters gather nearly every day outside the local Planned Parenthood clinic in Mount Auburn, but some of them are worried that a new proposal could limit their right to free speech.

The entire neighborhood would be affected by a proposed ordinance that would require protesters to carry any sign they display.

“What's happening on Auburn Avenue, which is Main Street for Mount Auburn, is that one protester will line up 50 signs, sitting on the street or against poles, (and) that becomes a distraction for business (and) residents,” said Stanley Broadnax of the Mount Auburn community council.

Ray Loebker said the proposal made him wonder how far his rights extend.

“If they take this away they're taking away freedom of speech, yes,” he said.

He said the signs lined up along Auburn Avenue have an affect on the clinic’s clients.

“The girls coming out who changed their mind, you ask them why, (and) they'll point to that graphic sign down there or say the signs in general changed their mind,” Loebker said.

Broadnax said he understood the protesters’ worries, but he said he was concerned about preserving the neighborhood.

“That's his form of expression, but when it begins to impinge upon the rights of businesses and residents in the neighborhood, then we need to look at an issue of fairness and balance,” he said.

The proposal has been placed before City Council’s law committee, which will examine the measure to see whether it would stand up to a certain legal challenge.

[Source]