Spectrum News: Pro-Life group concerned free speech rights are jeopardized at clinics
Members of anti-abortion group, Cities4Life, are complaining about police officers ‘infringing on their First Amendment rights’. An executive director of Cities4Life cites a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer as the source of concern.
The CMPD officer threatened to issue a citation to a member under an ordinance that prohibits blocking or interfering with pedestrian and vehicle traffic. When anti-abortion protestors block cars and pedestrians from getting to their appointment, they infringe on that person’s right to an abortion. Don’t let antis change the narrative.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Members of a pro-life group believe some police officers are infringing on their First Amendment rights while handing out booklets outside A Preferred Women’s Health Clinic on Latrobe Drive.
“I’m talking about federal court precedent that says if we’re offering literature in the driveway as long as we’re not physically obstructing then we’re within our First Amendment rights to do that because literature is speech,” said Daniel Parks, executive director for Cities4Life.
Parks said a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer recently threatened to issue a citation for violating the city’s picketing ordinance which states protesters can’t “block, obstruct or interfere” with pedestrian or vehicle traffic. He believes the word “interfere” is too vague and that some CMPD officers are interpreting it in various ways.
