[119248] in Cypherpunks
NYC sued over anti-anonymity law
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Wed Oct 20 11:32:00 1999
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 17:11:48 +0200 (CEST)
Message-Id: <199910201511.RAA11350@sofuku.monster.org>
From: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Reply-To: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
Ku Klux Klan Sues New York In Bid To Hold Rally
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Updated 12:07 AM ET October 20, 1999
By Gail Appleson, Law Correspondent
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Ku Klux Klan, hoping to stage a
"White Pride" rally in Manhattan this weekend wearing robes and
hoods, sued New York City Tuesday, challenging a law barring
masked individuals from gathering publicly as an infringement on
free-speech rights.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, asks the court to
find that the state law violates the free-speech guarantees contained
in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
The Klan, which described itself as "vilified," argued that the First
Amendment allows people to wear masks in public "to protect
themselves from injury by those who despise their views."
As part of the suit, the Klan sought a court order prohibiting the New
York Police Department from arresting Klan members if they gather
in "traditional regalia" Saturday for the "White Pride" rally in front
of a state courthouse in lower Manhattan.
The suit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf
of the Butler, Indiana-based Church of the American Knights of the
Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group.
"The mask is necessary for the American Knights to remain
anonymous and, thus, protect themselves from likely reprisal. The
courts have long recognized this right to remain anonymous where
the First Amendment is at stake, especially in the case of a despised
dissident organization like the American Knights," the suit said.
In another case, a group that said it wants to hold a counter
demonstration Saturday to protest the "night-riding terror of the
KKK" also sued the city because it was denied a permit to use
amplified sound.
That suit also was filed in U.S. District Court by the Partisan
Defense Committee, which describes itself as a coalition of blacks,
Hispanics, immigrants and others who have agreed to try to stop the
Klan. The group had hoped to hold a rally at the same time and place
as the Klan demonstration.
An unusual hearing has been set for Thursday in which the two
federal trial judges who have been assigned to the separate cases
both will preside.
In addition, a coalition of political, religious and civil rights
organizations held a news conference Tuesday to announce it also
was seeking a permit for Saturday to stage its own demonstration
against the Klan's "messages of hate."
Norman Siegel of the New York Civil Liberties Union said in court
papers that the Klan would agree to an arrangement that would allow
its members and counter demonstrators to use amplification at
different times on the same day.
He said otherwise the messages from both sides would be "obscured
in a cacophony of sound."
The Klan had applied to the police department for parade and sound
permits to allow 50 to 80 members to demonstrate in front of the
state courthouse. Last week, the department denied the application,
citing the state's anti-mask law, which bars public gatherings of
disguised people except at authorized masquerade parties.
The suit alleged that Klan members feel they must wear disguises out
of fear of harassment, violence and loss of employment.
"It is essential to the organization to allow members to preserve their
anonymity since, if members are not allowed to appear in public
without being able to maintain their anonymity, they will not
participate in public events," the suit said.
