US EditionLetter to the Editor: Governor Denying Free Speech
Fifty-seven Democratic lawmakers say the ban limits Montanans’ First Amendment rights and blocks many from attending rallies due to weekday work commitments, they wrote.
- On Tuesday, Fifty-seven Democratic state lawmakers urged Gov. Greg Gianforte to reconsider and restore permitted weekend events at the Capitol grounds, emphasizing free speech rights.
- The Department of Administration quietly enacted last month new guidelines restricting permitted public events to weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., officials said.
- Many Montanans who live hours from Helena say weekends are often the only practical time to travel, while organizers of the No Kings rally March 28 condemned the change, saying it violates their First Amendment rights.
- After pushback, the Department of Administration said it will again allow permitted weekend access, with Misty Ann Giles acknowledging they 'missed the mark' and recognizing the concerns, a lawmaker said.
- Partisan fights have deepened over Gov. Greg Gianforte's property tax legislation, and the governor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Helena Independent Record
Letter to the editor: Governor denying free speech
Gov. Gianforte has unilaterally decided Montanans no longer have free speech rights to rally at our state Capitol on weekends. I would challenge the governor to point out where in our U.S. and Montana Constitutions he is given the authority…
Montana Free Press
Montana Democrats say ban on weekend rallies shuts constituents out of Capitol
Fifty-seven Democratic state lawmakers — just shy of the state’s 60-member Democratic caucus — signed on to a letter Tuesday urging the governor to reconsider new guidelines banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds. Gov. Greg Gianforte did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Download Montana Free Press reported last week that new guidelines say public events requiring a permit “may only occur on weekdays and betw…
State halts permitting on all weekend rallies at Capitol, ‘No Kings’ organizers vow to go forward
Rally organizers say the change inhibits their constitutional rights to gather and protest. By JoVonne Wagner MONTANA FREE PRESS Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights. State officials countered that the new rule, quietly
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