Ordinance lays out city regulations and registration framework for protests/assemblies during the RNC

The Public Works Committee today recommended for approval an ordinance establishing regulations and registration-issuance procedures for the use of city streets and public property during the 2024 Republican National Convention scheduled to take place in Milwaukee in July 2024.

Most importantly, the attached ordinance (Council File #231740) notes that “persons and groups have a First Amendment right to organize and participate in peaceful assemblies and parades on sidewalks and rights-of-way and in the parks within the city, and to engage in peaceful assemblies and parades near the Convention so they may be seen and heard, subject to reasonable, content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions designed to protect public safety, persons, and property.”

The lead sponsor of the ordinance, Alderman Robert J. Bauman, chair of the Public Works Committee, said the file will be taken up tomorrow – Tuesday, March 19 – during the full meeting of the Common Council. The Council will meet at 9 a.m. in the third floor Council Chamber at City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.

“I value the voices of community members who brought their concerns to the table today and testified during the special Public Works Committee meeting, and it is our goal to ensure protection of the rights of individuals and groups to protest, even as there is understandably tight security in the security zone from July 15 to July 18 during the RNC,” Alderman Bauman said.

“The regulations and requirements will be in place to ensure that individuals and groups can express their voices in a peaceful and orderly way,” he said.

Please go to https://city.milwaukee.gov/RNC to learn more about how individuals and groups can apply to hold an assembly or protest during the RNC.

The full Council meeting on Tuesday, March 19 will start at 9 a.m. in the third floor Council Chamber at City Hall, 200 E. Wells St., and will be televised live on the City Channel (channel 25 on Spectrum Cable and channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse in the City of Milwaukee) and via streaming video on the city website at www.city.milwaukee.gov/Channel25.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.