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Organizers of traditional pro-pot rally say city is blocking them from the Common - with only 8 days notice
By adamg on Sat, 09/07/2013 - 12:34pm
UPDATE: A spokeswoman for the Parks and Recreation Department says tonight: "The application for a two day event is still under review by the City of Boston."
MassCann reports the city yesterday denied a request for a two-day Liberty Rally on the Common - scheduled for next weekend.
In a phone call with Bill Downing, treasurer of MassCann, Alex O’Connell, Esq. of the Boston Law Department informed Downing that the City had decided there were not enough police resources to police MassCann/NORML's event along with other events happening that weekend. Ms. O’Connell offered no explanation why the City had figured out this was a concern only eight days before the event, given months of constant contact between city officials and MassCann/NORML about various aspects of the upcoming event.
Ms. O'Connell also offered no explanation why the police were needed at all, given that the event is famously peaceful and good-natured, with no alcohol allowed, and Park Rangers and EMTs are on hand to keep order and deal with emergencies.
The Liberty Rally had been a traditional September event on the Common, although this would have been the first two-day version.
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Comments
Thank God !
All those hippies smoking The Pot are starting down the Road to Ruin! It starts with The Pot and leads to Molly and Heroin! Overdoses ALL OVER the Common! Save Our Society! Keep ALL DRUGS illegal!
Damn,I'm so worked up over this. I'll have to take a Valium and have a couple of glasses of wine to calm down.
The people shall have the right to assemble...
What would Sam Adams do?
Tokes, then spokes
First they are smoking marijuana, next thing they are riding bikes. It is the gateway...or is it the other way around? Maybe bikes are the gateway, no wait, it is milk! I started with milk!
People have been smoking weed
People have been smoking weed every day on the Common for years. Go to the top of the hill with the Soldiers and Sailors monument and hang out with those guys sometime. Pro-tip: they're not hippies.
Not the first time the city has pulled this
City denied permit to the Beacon Hill org that wanted to have its Taste of the Hill a couple weeks ago, too. Seemed suspicious then, seems suspicious now. We'd have to know how often these events are canceled to make a claim of harassment or prejudice, of course.
So, instead of this being a bunch of hippies getting stoned and letting their freak fly, it's an actual issue of Liberty. Nice job, Mr. Mayor.
The Common belongs to the people, not the city. My recommendation is that the group show up regardless. As well as all their supporters.
I assume the city will be as quick to cancel the Marathon next April, too, right, when it becomes the absolute shit-show it's guaranteed to be. And, with a week's notice, too.
(Oh, wait, we won't have the Emperor in power ... strike that.)
Boston Marathon
Unfortunately, I think new terrible policy is creeping in. If you can't afford the Massachusetts Guard, you can't afford to assemble in public.
How else are we going to be safe?
Wasn't something just recently also canceled on the esplanade? Good thing first Night fell apart, that would have been cost elevintybillion dollars to police if we going by Occupy Dewey rates.
India Festival
... was cancelled because the DCR told them they HAD to have approximately 5x the number of detail officers as previous years.
IIf detail cops can't make
IIf detail cops can't make money what's the point of having events.
How much more of this police
How much more of this police extortion will there have to be before people protest?
Oh wait, the police would never approve the permit for such a protest.
Are you sure about that?
Perhaps you can tell us more?
Nice to see so much passion
Nice to see so much passion over a non issue.
Ah, yes... pesky ol' liberty... a complete non-issue!
You should look into taking up residency in North Korea.
non issue?
It's a "non issue" because it's not YOU'RE issue! Let me guess, TeaParty, self-proclaimed 'libertarian', cop-wannabe? The "non issue" is the event itself; there's no need for all these detail cops and there's no need for the heavy handed bullying that goes on @ BCH to rake in the doe-re-me from citizen organizers and local businesses! SMH!
Liberty?
I wonder why they have this right after all the college kids move in and not in June, July, or August? It's all about Liberty. Yeah. Right.
Because it makes sense to
Because it makes sense to schedule large public events when a lot of people are in town? You make it sound like a bad thing.
Menino had no problem giving
Menino had no problem giving the tea party a permit for Boston Common. And those guys bring guns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_racket
There's a HUGE amount of inane, irritating, sanctioned,
usually corporate sponsored crap, that happens on the common incessantly, pretty much year 'round;curious. Now I find thousands of teenagers and young adults coming to the common from all over Greater Boston to smoke weed in protest, irritating as all F. I wish TPTB would just legalize it. And yes, we have a state sanctioned protection racket that involves our law enforcement authorities. And yes, it is outrageous.
"Not enough police resources"?
Well, that's just like, their opinion, man.
Oh, people!
When big pharma eventually gets into the weed business, there will be plenty of money for these events, believe me. They might even start throwing these types of events at the Chatham Bars Inn.