At Blackwatch, we are firm believers in the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights. As such, we strongly believe in the People’s right to protest, whether we agree with the message or not. However, if you’re not following the law, you’re risking arrest, your message will go unheard, and the people for whom you want to win over will be less likely to conform to your ideas.
For example, the Just Stop Oil crowd in Europe likes to block roads and bridges. This action is not only illegal, but it also prevents people from going to work, going to school, going to the pharmacy to pick up important medication, etc. Instead of changing hearts and minds, all they are accomplishing is a buildup of resentment for their cause.
Exercising your 1st Amendment right of assembly, speech, religion, press, and expression, does not give you the right to break the law, or prevent others from exercising their rights. An example of this would be the burglary and vandalism of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University last night (Apr 30, 2024). Some people were downright angry at NYPD for entering the building and removing and arresting people. Why are they angry? They broke the law. They should be arrested. Not only did they burgle and vandalize, they also harassed and terrorized some of the people that belonged there. This does nothing to help their cause. These people may not have been actual protestors, but rather professional agitators. Nonetheless, it shouldn’t be happening, and they deserve to be arrested.
When protesting, you cannot block travel. Especially on the roadway. The only time this is legal anywhere is if you obtain a permit so the municipality can make prearrangements to close the road(s) in which you plan to protest. Protests are not a valid excuse for breaking the law or interfering with people’s lives. If you break the law or violate other people’s rights, you frankly deserve whatever charges are brought against you.
As mentioned previously, we’re firm believers in the Bill of Rights. Ergo, we believe in the 2nd Amendment and the right of the People to keep and bear arms. However, if I saw pro-2A protesters breaking the law or violating people’s rights, I’d want those responsible arrested as well.
At the point when peaceful protests become engaged in criminal activity, it becomes time to shut the protest down, regardless of the message, popular or not. You can try again another day, hopefully without crime. These protests should not be allowed to continue if laws are being broken. The protests at Columbia should have been shut down days earlier as they were already breaking laws then. We shouldn’t wait until the situation has escalated to the scale that it did. If you can’t behave in a civilized manner, you probably shouldn’t protest.
