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Resident asks Beverly to let public commenters give ward instead of full street address
Summary
During public comment, Ayesha Siddiqui read an ACLU letter and urged the council to allow speakers to say their ward rather than a full street address, citing safety and free-speech concerns for survivors, immigrants and others.
Ayesha (Ayesha Siddiqui) of Ward 3 addressed the council during the public-comment period and urged a rule change so speakers are not required to state full street addresses when they speak at council meetings.
Siddiqui read excerpts of a March 2024 letter from the ACLU of Massachusetts that warned municipal rules requiring street addresses can chill protected speech and discourage survivors of intimate-partner violence, victims of stalking and immigrants from participating. She argued the city could meet its need to know who is speaking by accepting ward numbers rather than precise home addresses.
"I urge you to make this change. Protect the speech rights of every resident in this community, including the ones who are most vulnerable," Siddiqui said. She asked the council to revise its rules (appendix A, condition 3a) to allow speakers to state their ward only.
The council thanked Siddiqui for the comment and the president acknowledged receipt of the ACLU letter; there was no immediate council action recorded in the transcript.
