We’ve been fighting anti-protest bills across the country for years. This week, an assault on the right to protest came to our own backyard, aimed at restricting protests in residential neighborhoods. The bill comes as part of a nationwide wave of anti-protest legislation, with hundreds of bills introduced since 2017. Introduced as an “emergency measure,” Defending Rights & Dissent had 3 days to help pull together a coalition to stop the bill. We successfully brought legal and activist groups into a united front to mobilize against the bill.
The Residential Tranquility Act bans amplified sound (like megaphones) after 7pm in residential neighborhoods, even if the noise level is not unreasonable. This restriction effectively tamps down any protests happening outside residences after work hours, undermining protest objectives of visibility and audibility. Navigating the issue can be complex, but the Residential Tranquility Act tilts the scales heavily in favor of the suppression of protest. The bill is not shy in its objectives; it addresses protest while ignoring other potential sources of neighborhood disruption, such as residents throwing loud parties. The bill singles out protest, possibly in an unconstitutional manner, to constrain demonstrations and hand the police additional levers to criminalize protest. Activists who violate the Act can face up to 90 days in jail.
The Residential Tranquility Act not only attacked protest, but also subverted the democratic process. While purporting to address the concerns of annoyed neighbors, the Act was passed on an emergency basis that left residents with no opportunity for public comment. The DC Council revised the bill just an hour before the vote, depriving the public of even seeing the bill text prior to its passage. At a protest outside DC Council, Executive Director Sue Udry called out the democratic deficiency at play:
“Protests the Council doesn’t like aren’t an emergency…Do you know what the emergency is? Genocide is an emergency. The climate crisis is an emergency. Police violence is an emergency…Protest is a right, not an emergency.”
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Passage of the bill on an emergency basis is undemocratic, but thankfully has a silver lining: the Act’s term expires in 90 days. Should the DC Council introduce legislation permanently codifying protest restrictions, we will continue to organize opposition to the bill.