What: Revisions to the city's First Amendment demonstration ordinance: definitions, consolidated police chief authority, a faster appeal to the Public Safety Committee, and an expedited fee-and-insurance waiver path through special events.
Where it stands: The Public Safety Committee voted by voice on October 20 to recommend approval to Council, over repeated calls from speakers for full repeal.
During citizen participation, about eight speakers urged repeal or deeper changes, saying the police chief should not decide where and when protests occur. One said records show about one in four Marion Square permits is approved as submitted. Seven written comments asked for repeal. Speakers noted the Public Safety Committee was reviewing the ordinance.
Presenters said the permit threshold (gatherings over 25) is unchanged. Speakers argued the police chief keeps unrestrained discretion and that the appeal still goes to the same committee; supporters called it a compromise better than current law.