Arrests last night at protest in NYC.

[Renew Deal]

I got this from a friend.
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Last night I received a first hand glimpse of what to expect this upcoming week. I went to Circuit city to pick up Shaolin Soccer, which might be irrelevant to this story. Circuit City just happens to be in Union square. There was a small protest going on with people speaking on a mega phone. Probably a crowd of just 50-75 people watched. 25 of them have digital camcorders, and the other have cell phones with cameras and video capability. 50 cops show up (slight exaggeration) and arrest 4-5 people. Some of them werent even speaking, just standing there.

I approached one of the police chiefs and asked why they were being arrested. His reply was that he loves this country and the freedom of speech, but it is illegal to speak on a mega phone. I assume its ok to speak as long as no more then 2 people can hear you. If you look at all the newspapers yesterday and watched any local news you will notice that any one that protest is being labeled as anarchist. Of course this just an excuse to crack our skulls open and send us to jail.
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You need a permit to use a megaphone in public NYC.

[HFishbine]

1. Was watching a NYCLU

meeting on CSpan last night -- a training breieifing for protesters --and one of the things they mentioned was that New York does have an ordinance that reqires a permit if one is going to use electronic voice amplification. They even mentioned bullhorns specifically. So speaking through a bullhorn is not illegal, it just requires a permit.

The NYCLU has set up a storefront to offer these free hour-long orientations. Maybe your friend might want to go.

[jimshoes]

4. Wonder if this guy had a permit?

[HFishbine]

8. Oh, Damn!

Well, I guess there are always exceptions. Good one!

[prodigal_green]

2. Amplification requires a permit

We're a densly-packed city. Trust me, this is not a bad thing--we'd be overrun with religious crackpots blaring through our windows if a permit were not required. They make enough noise just shouting on street corners.

They should have applied for a permit.

NY1 (the 24hr New York City news channel) seemed to be rather supportive of protestors. They were the only ones, to my knowledge, that showed the ACT UP folks thanking the police for their respectful treatment when arresting them.

[jean]

3. what is that tool from hell they're going to use- it amplifies sound and

incapacitates people? I wonder what kind of special permit was needed for that thing.

[prodigal_green]

5. They probably got one. eom

[jean]

7. it's the LRAD, the master blaster and they had it ready for use in Boston

as well. Here's an article and picture:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5359306/site/newsweek/

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. History repeats itself

http://www.underreported.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=827