CITY SHOULDN'T ABET HATE GROUPS KEEP THEM OUT ACTION GIVES A FORUM

Radical anti-government gangsters in the region must be laughing long and hard about now.

Last weekend they hosted a preparedness exposition at the Spokane Convention Center. There were a few dried-bean vendors for cover but basically a bunch of gangsters used a public facility, maintained by tax dollars, to market anti-government ideas and sell instruction manuals on how to be better snipers.

The irony hit Acting City Manager Bill Pupo like a hammer. Due to First Amendment considerations he couldn't deny a permit to the group. However, when asked if the city wanted the expo at the convention center, Pupo said, "Hell no!" He then urged people to boycott the event he was forced by law to permit. Then the anti-governmenteers, who leveraged the First Amendment to rent the center, refused access to the media. They harassed and tried to physically intimidate two members of the working press who were standing in a public hallway. So, in a building owned and maintained by local government, a group met to promote violence against government and recruit new gang members. They used the right to freedom of expression when it suited them but denied the same privilege to others. And it all happened a few heartbeats from City Hall where a pipe bomb exploded last spring. In a town that has seen four major bombings in the last year. In a town struggling to make a stand against extremism and racism. In a town that has a black eye nationally because of the kind of terrorism the convention encouraged. What is wrong with this picture? Our obsessive handwringing over literal interpretations of freedom of expression has taken our eye off the ball. There are plenty of private halls where the expo could have been held and these guys could say whatever they please. But don't spend tax dollars to provide a venue for people who can't figure out any better way to change government than to sell the top 10 terrorist tactics of our time. There are certain things that are simply wrong. Promoting violence is one of them. Communities have empowered local governments across the country to regulate pornographers without violating the Constitution. The same should be done for people who promote domestic terrorism. The city should be allowed to exercise common sense and just say no.

Copyright 1997 Cowles Publishing Company
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