There are important dos and don’ts that come with protesting, according to a group that’s holding a workshop in Columbus to teach people how to demonstrate within their constitutional rights.
Protests and demonstrations are protected under the First Amendment. But protests that get out of hand and turn violent are no longer peaceful assemblies and can lose Constitutional protection. That’s among the concepts the ACLUwill go over in the workshop.
'The First Amendment ... entitles everyone to hear every attitude outside in the light of day.'
The ACLU’s Elizabeth Bonham says the same constitutional protections and parameters cover hate groups as well. And while she condemns their racism, Bonham says allowing free speech is better than keeping those ideas in the shadows.
“They fester and they become even more dangerous and what the First Amendment does is that it entitles everyone to hear every attitude outside in the light of day,” she says.
She adds that gives other groups an opportunity to rally a counter protest.
