GRASSROOTS in NEBRASKA

Sowing the Seeds of Constitutional, Limited Government http://grassrootsne.com/?page_id=2405

FOR I M M E D IAT E R E LEAS E

PRESS RELEASE
Online

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November 28, 2011

Nebraska Right To Life Not Alone In Concerns About City Of Lincolns Handling Of Occupy Group
In addressing the City Council on Monday, November 22, Execu<ve Director of Nebraska Right to Life, Julie Schmit- Albin, did more than raise ques<ons about how enforcement of ordinances for size and placement of signs has aected her organiza<on, says another Lincoln-based group. Shelli Dawdy, founder of the limited government advocacy group, Grassroots in Nebraska (GiN), stated, Were grateful that Julie took the <me out of a very busy holiday week - <me that GiNs leaders didnt have - to point out some of the problems with the Citys ordinances and enforcement of them. There is a growing list of ques<ons about City ocials decision making and how it impacts ci<zens First Amendment rights, about taxpayer liability, about public safety and the future of the rule of law in Lincoln. Dawdys group has been troubled since the Occupy Lincoln encampment sprang up on the Centennial Mall in mid- October and has been ac<vely monitoring developments both locally and na<onally, while researching Lincolns Municipal Codes. GiNs leadership team has no<ced some dierences in the Citys handling of groups like GiN, Nebraska Right to Life, and others, when contrasted against the handling of the Occupy Lincoln group. As taxpayers, members of GiN are increasingly concerned about the Citys poten<al exposure to costly legal ac<on resul<ng from such disparate applica<on of the law aec<ng ci<zens ability to exercise their First Amendment rights. City ocials stated in October that the Mall is not a City Park, but a public right-of-way, despite a long history of management by the Parks and Recrea<on Department which includes budge<ng, maintenance, long-range planning, and publica<on in print and the Citys website that the Mall is a park. Parks and Recrea<on has required groups to follow permiXng and use ordinances for parks when convening events on the Mall in the past. Occupy Lincolns encampment violates a list of City ordinances under any classica<on of the Mall, especially since indenite overnight camping is involved. The Citys past enforcement of permit requirements for First Amendment related events, including marches and street closures, are now due renewed scru<ny. There seems to be no objec<ve standard for how groups are treated, Dawdy noted, Some groups are granted one kind of permit, while other groups are required to get another kind of permit in the same space for the same kind of event. S<ll others, including Occupy Lincoln, are not required to get a permit at all. We cant nd a way to make sense of City policy associated with First Amendment expression, including those regarding signage. City ocials statements about camping on Centennial Mall, whatever ocials want to now call that loca<on, makes the least sense of any aspect of this issue. Following the publica<on of an ar<cle in the Friday, November 25, Lincoln Journal Star about Schmit-Albins November 22 appearance before the City Council, GiNs leadership team decided to let other Lincolnites and Schmit- Albins cri<cs know that an all-volunteer, unincorporated group with a broad mission has many concerns about Lincoln ocials handling of the ma\er. As of Sunday evening, the majority of comments on Journal Stars web version of the ar<cle were dismissive, personal a\acks on Schmit-Albin, including her status as a paid employee, her pro-life advocacy, and even on her family life, not on any of the substan<ve issues about unequal applica<on of law or encroachment on First Amendment rights. Dawdy and Schmit-Albin have both separately stated that they support all ci<zens ability to exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly, but both have stated that they believe ci<zens - including Occupy Lincoln - should do so within the connes of the law. ###

Grassroots in Nebraska Press Release Nov. 28, 2011

For interviews or permission to republish: http://grassrootsne.com/?page_id=2405

GiN Web Article About City of Lincoln and Occupy Lincoln Group:
Occupy Lincoln Shanty Town: City of Lincoln PERMITing Hypocrisy http://grassrootsne.com/?p=2179

Other GiN Articles About Occupy Movement:

Occupy Lincoln: The 99 Percent, The Proletariat OR The 99 Percent? http://grassrootsne.com/?p=2181 Government vs Capitalism OR Crony Capitalism? What Can We Do About Greed? http://grassrootsne.com/?p=8783 For a Grassroots Spontaneous Movement - Occupy Groups Are A Lot Alike http://grassrootsne.com/?p=14094

About GiN
Grassroots in Nebraska (GiN), founded in March 2009, is a Lincoln, Nebraska, based group whose mission is to actively promote a return to Constitutional, limited government according to its original meaning. As an allvolunteer, unincorporated group, GiN organizes various actions in working to fulll its mission, including rallies (some of which were tea parties), meetings, and periodically joins forces with other groups in Nebraska and across the country. GiNs core focus is on research, analysis, and dissemination of information about current public policy issues, role of government, and history. The GiN website has become an increasingly popular information source for Nebraskans looking for independent assessments and analysis of state politics and important issues such as the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline Project. GiNs founder, Shelli Dawdy, who serves as media spokeswoman for the group, was an original member of the team who helped coordinate the 40+ simultaneous tea party events on February 27, 2009, but decided to form a group focused on Nebraska which was independent of national and political party inuences. GiN and some of its leadership team individually have been covered by Nebraska media outlets since 2009, including KLKN-TV, WOWT, Ch. 10/11, KHAS TV and Radio, KFAB 1110, KLIN 1400, Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald.