Six Madison protesters are suing the state’s Department of Administration over a ban on signs and banners in the Capitol. The lawsuit was filed on Friday and claims the $500 dollar fine for carrying a sign or banner in the Capitol without the approval of the Department of Administration is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment.
In the Wisconsin State Journal, Lawyer Jeff Scott Olson described the signs as “pure expression of political ideas,” and added that, “several signs that led to citations simply contained [the] words of the free speech provision of the Wisconsin Constitution.” To me, it seems almost laughably ironic that protesters would be fined for carrying the constitution into the state Capitol. The nerve!
Recent developments in the Capitol’s policy of what is and is not allowed on the premises have me scratching my head. Since protests began in earnest last spring, countless would-be paparazzi have been dragged out the door or arrested for attempting to film or photograph the legislative process. It is legal to carry a camera in the building, but illegal to use it. Winding up a 35mm in the Capitol is a one-way ticket out the door. Matt Rothschild, editor of The Progressive, was arrested Tuesday for taking pictures on the Assembly floor. He was apprehended while documenting the arrest of another photographer, which must make this the first known case of a meta-arrest for Capitol photography.
In a bit on concealed carry in the Capitol, talk show personality Stephen Colbert reassured viewers that “… this does not mean that you will be seeing images of gunfire in the statehouse, because while guns are allowed, cameras are not.” Colbert highlights another layer of absurdity in the Capitol’s policy – concealed carry.
There are multiple problems with concealed carry at the Capitol, the largest of which are the discontinuities in the policy within the building itself. The Assembly will allow guns in the gallery during legislative sessions, but the Senate has been reluctant to pass such a bill. The Senate should follow the Assembly’s lead and allow guns. It is completely hypocritical for lawmakers to pass a bill that allows concealed guns in Wisconsin and then ban them at the Capitol, the most prominent public building in the state. It is unreasonable for senators to expect Wisconsin residents to happily accept a concealed carry law that their elected representatives are uncomfortable with.
As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, I have no problem with concealed carry laws. I think that if they apply to the state, they certainly ought to hold true for the Capitol. However, I don’t think that concealed carry laws are more important than Wisconsin citizens’ rights to express their political opinions and know what goes on during legislative sessions. I’m no expert on the Constitution, but the last time I checked, freedom of speech is part of the First Amendment. The right to bear arms appears later, in the Second Amendment.
The Capitol is a symbol of this state and the beating heart of its democratic government. Unfortunately, building policies on signs and cameras reflect a lack of respect for the democratic ideals of freedom of expression and transparency. Gov. Scott Walker and representatives of the Assembly and Senate must consider what sort of message these bans send to citizens. At the moment, it appears that their priorities are guns first, First Amendment second and transparent democracy a distant third.
Charles Godfrey ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in math and physics.
