The city of Baltimore settled a 10-year-old lawsuit brought by the ACLU to contest rules requiring permits for citizens to protest or distribute leaflets in city parks. The city agreed to rewrite the rules to make them consistent with the First Amendment and paid a $98,000 settlement for ACLU’s legal costs. (Baltimore Brew, Octiber 16, 2013, by Mark Reutter)
A press release from the ACLU of Maryland hailed the settlement as a “significant expansion of First Amendment rights.” The release said, “Prior to the suit, the rules had required that even a single person engaging in free speech activities in any City park had to first get a permit from the Office of Recreation and Parks, and had severely limited where in the Inner Harbor demonstrators could congregate and leaflet.” (American Civil Liberties Union, October 16, 2013)
Lead plaintiff Betsy Cunningham decided after 9/11 that the true patriotic response was to work for peace rather than seek revenge. She formed Women in Black, a local group of a peace and justice group, who staged vigils for peace. At one point the police told the group to move from a sidewalk or be arrested. That’s when they contacted the ACLU and brought the lawsuit. (Baltimore Brew, October 19, 2013, by Fern Shen)