March Against Monsanto is gearing up for another worldwide protest against the agrochemical giant. Almost 300 protests are scheduled on May 24, 2014 from Alaska to New Zealand. You can view all the events scheduled here or check the live map for MAM 2014 protests in your area.
A protest is scheduled for Monsanto’s world headquarters in Saint Louis, MO, the same location where protests were held in January 2014. Several protesters from the Fishy Fleet along with the Seralini rat were arrested then.
Monsanto HQ is located in the municipality of Creve Coeur, MO. A new ordinance amending section 345.080 of the Code of Ordinances seems designed to limit protesters’ free speech. The ordinance which would make it illegal to stand on the medians in Creve Coeur, went through its first reading at the Creve Coeur City Council meeting on April 28, 2014. It will go through its second reading on Monday, May, 21, 2014.
If the ordinance passes it will be illegal for MAM STL protesters to stand in the median during the May 24th protest at Monsanto headquarters. Without the ordinance, police still have the authority to make protesters leave the median if they deem it a safety issue.
Why then would city officials rush through a new law which appears to be aimed at opponents of Monsanto? As evidence of the city’s intent, March Against Monsanto posted the following letter from Glenn Eidman, Creve Coeur Chief of Police. He sent the following letter to the Creve Coeur City Administrator on April 23, 2104:
DATE: April 23, 2014
TO: Mark Perkins, City Administrator
FROM: Glenn Eidman, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Pedestrian Safety OrdinanceThe Police department has encountered numerous protests in the last year at the Monsanto World Headquarters. One of the problems encountered during these protests have been the protesters themselves who walk out to the median and attempt to demonstrate and pass out brochures to passing motorists. This in itself has been a safety concern, as they are too close to the roadway for vehicles traveling at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has also voiced their concerns about anyone standing or occupying the medians and has asked the Police department to take enforcement action to ensure the safety of all involved.
The ordinance specifically outlines that medians are a part of the roadway and are not to be used by pedestrians except in the course of actively crossing the roadway in compliance with the provisions of the ordinance.
The Police department will make every effort to ensure the safety of all those involved, and will additionally have an ordinance that allows us to enforce such actions if necessary.
John Chasnoff, former ACLU of Missouri Program Director, spoke to the ACLU lawyers Tuesday, May 6. Based on his understanding of that discussion, Chasnoff stated that protesters have a legal right to pass out fliers from the street when traffic is stopped. However, access to medians may be restricted for safety reasons, if the law applies equally to everyone.
Despite the Chief’s obvious intent to target protesters, the ordinance is worded in such a way as to appear to have universal application. Police intent to focus on protesters would not in itself be enough to have the law overturned in court. Nevertheless, St. Louis organizers want to put the Chief on notice: if he singles out Monsanto protesters for “special” treatment, restricting their access more harshly than he does at other events, the law can and will be challenged on an “as applied” basis.
MAM is expected to issue a press release Monday May 12, 2014.
Join the event for March Against Monsanto’s Global Headquarters – St. Louis on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/533501363401893/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular