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Dozens of residents urge Charleston council to repeal First Amendment demonstration ordinance
Summary
More than two dozen speakers used the citizens' participation period to call on Charleston City Council to repeal a 2021 ordinance requiring permits for demonstrations, saying it impedes free speech; council took no ordinance action at the meeting.
Dozens of people at the May 13 Charleston City Council meeting urged elected officials to repeal the city's First Amendment demonstration ordinance, passed in 2021, arguing the permit requirements unconstitutionally restrict protest and assembly.
The council's public comment period—limited to 30 minutes and capped at one minute per speaker—featured multiple residents and organizers who said the ordinance has been applied to limit criticism of law enforcement and to block demonstrations. Tracy Taff, who identified herself as a representative of the national group 50501, said her group's permit to hold a June 14 demonstration was denied and that the city's permitting process required a special events permit she said would take months and cost money. "We just wanna exercise our First Amendment rights. We just wanna be on a sidewalk with a sign," she said.
Gabriel Rogasner, a speaker who described a recent nationwide demonstration that organized elsewhere after Charleston denied a permit, said: "Our First Amendment right to protest should not require permission." Several speakers invoked recent local arrests and cited concerns the ordinance has been used to suppress protests by and for marginalized communities.
The meeting record shows extensive public opposition to the ordinance. The clerk reported at the end of the public comment period that city staff had received six comments calling for repeal of the demonstration ordinance. Speakers also urged the council to avoid prolonged litigation; one speaker said the ACLU was expected to take up the matter (speaker statement reported during public comment).
Council response and action: Council members heard the comments but did not take immediate legislative action to repeal or amend the ordinance at the May 13 meeting. No motions on the ordinance were recorded during the session.
Ending: The public pressure recorded at the meeting signals ongoing community concern; the council may address the subject in committee or at a future meeting depending on member requests and staff recommendations.
