This week’s “No Kings March” in downtown Christiansburg helped me realize that I was not sure of the guarantee in the U.S. Constitution about allowing such demonstrations. So, I looked it up and found the first amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Although this amendment is clear, nothing can be absolute – as strict interpretation would infringe on other rights. We’ve all heard that you can’t yell “Fire” in a crowded theater – and that prohibition on a life-threatening false alarm is not an infringement of the first amendment. I looked to see what details applied to the guaranteed right to assemble, and learned that this right applies to public property, and could not infringe on other rights (such as the right of others to use public property.) Thus, assemblies on public property such as sidewalks must not block passage of others wanting to use the sidewalks. Saturday’s march met those criteria – and supporters of our local “No Kings Movement” can be praised for carefully following all restrictions on assembly.
Very important to recognize – regardless of your own political view – is that the demonstrators were there because they saw it as a way to improve our country. The demonstrators (I’m guessing around 2000, but really have no reliable way to estimate their numbers) had a very positive experience expressing their political opinion about the President and his administration. I saw nothing hateful in any of the political signs folks were carrying and heard nothing hateful said by the speakers. Participants were very positive about their love of country – the rally was about making the country better. The consistent theme was that we need to have government follow the Constitution, and that President Trump’s actions often appear more like that of a monarch than a President (and George Washington made clear that we should not have kings in the United States!).
It was good to see too that those who don’t agree with this position did not try to interfere with the day’s event. Although there is substantial support of the administration in the Christiansburg area, apparently no one came out to challenge the right to demonstrate. Great to see that both sides were respecting the first amendment! Kudos also should go to the Christiansburg police. Uniformed officers were in the area, their presence was helpful rather than confrontational, and their work was done very professionally. It is admirable to have police working as part of the community rather than confronting the community.
As always, my favorite columns are those that are positive rather than focusing on problems. In this case, having a large free speech demonstration without aggressive confrontations was an outstanding demonstration of the Constitution working. Let’s hope more of these types of events continue, and different political points-of-view can be appropriately respected.
