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Kings Mountain council repeals 1991 picketing law, adopts First Amendment–aligned rules
Summary
The City of Kings Mountain unanimously repealed and replaced a 1991 picketing ordinance, removing broad permit requirements for small gatherings, narrowing enforcement to time/place/manner limits, shifting many violations from criminal to civil remedies, and deferring firearm restrictions to state law.
Mayor Robert Wagman and Police Chief Gerald Childress told the City Council on April 14 that the city’s picketing ordinance needed modernization to align with current First Amendment jurisprudence. Chief Childress said the existing 1991 code imposed procedural and content-based restrictions that risked unconstitutional prior restraints and recommended repeal and replacement.
The council’s action replaces the broad permit requirement—previously applied to most demonstrations—with a framework that eliminates permits for most expressive activity and requires notice only for larger demonstrations of 25 or more participants when needed for public safety coordination. Chief Childress said the revision protects spontaneous demonstrations and small gatherings while enabling public-safety planning for larger events.
The new ordinance emphasizes content- and viewpoint-neutral enforcement, Chief Childress said, and limits regulation to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions tied to specific safety concerns. It narrows police authority to disperse gatherings to situations involving clear, articulable threats or actual obstruction and shifts many enforcement options away from criminal charges toward civil administrative remedies. The proposal also defers broad firearm restrictions around demonstrations to North Carolina state law to avoid conflict with state preemption.
Councilmembers Heather Lemmond and Scott Neisler thanked Chief Childress for bringing the update forward; Councilmember Jay Rhodes moved to repeal and replace Chapter 134 and the council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 26-16.
The change takes effect according to the ordinance’s terms and is intended to reduce the city’s exposure to First Amendment legal challenges while preserving the ability to address safety and obstruction concerns at public demonstrations.
