Thread: Asheville NC/ACLU Lawsuit settled over excessive fees

Not sure if this is a duplicate post as it is old news but a site search didn't turn up anything so here it is...

[quote]ACLU, city settle lawsuit
by David Forbes
The Asheville City Council’s Aug. 21 vote to modify the city’s parade ordinance was unanimous and drew no comment. But while it lacked the furor surrounding many other matters that come before Council, the action did put to rest a lawsuit against the city filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina and an immigration-reform group. The suit maintained that the city had charged excessive fees for a protest permit last year. The city also agreed to refund the disputed fees.

Settled: Marchers at the May 1, 2006, rally organized by the We are One America Committee, which, with the help of the ACLU, has succeeded in getting a reduction in fees charged by the city when it permitted the event.
The very next day, the ACLU announced that it would ask a judge to dismiss the lawsuit. The groups maintained that the city had charged the May 1st We Are One America Committee $1,500 in connection with a protest held in downtown Asheville on May 1, 2006—including charging for some services the group had never requested.
The retooled ordinance specifies that “the fees the city charges are for services that are requested by the organizers and are necessary to protect public safety.â€

If a city wants to charge high fees to discourage protest, then let it.

Only serious events need to apply.

Dixie

I didn't hear about this. What a bunch of morons. $1,500 is not excessive when it comes to paying for police and the use of the city services.

Hmmm, the ACLU sued on behalf of the so-called "May 1st Group" no far leftist alignment there.

I am starting to feel the ACLU has become the Nations greatest threat and enemy. The few good idealistic members still there need to truthfully look inward and decide who and what interests they are serving with each action the orgainization takes.

Doesn't this action fly in the face of a group called WE ARE ONE?
Why do they think they are exempt from paying like everyone else?
Cheap talk from Cheap labor equals cheap, cheap, cheap.