Dan
Frazier
P.O. Box 22324
Flagstaff, AZ 86002
May 7, 2004
Eleanor
Eisenberg
AZCLU
P.O. Box 17148
Phoenix, AZ 85011-0148
Dear
Ms. Eisenberg:
On
May 1, 2004, I and four others held a protest outside of the home of a local
City Council candidate named Eldon Kramer. We were standing with our signs on a
sidewalk maybe 50 feet from his house. Contrary to media reports, we were not
making any noise, shouting, or otherwise disturbing the peace in any way. We
were prompted to hold this protest at this time and place because we had read an
announcement in the newspaper about a Republican open house scheduled that
afternoon at Mr. Kramer’s house. The event was free and open to the public.
Kramer would later say that the event had been canceled. Indeed, there was not
much going on at the Kramer residence that afternoon, and we only continued our
protest for about 30 minutes.
After
the protest, Mr. Kramer filed a police report against us. Three of us have been
charged with “Residential Picketing” (ARS 13-2909). The law states:
"A
person commits residential picketing if, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm
another person, such person intentionally engages in picketing or otherwise
demonstrates before or about the residence or dwelling place of an individual,
other than a residence or dwelling place also used as the principal place of
business of such individual. ..."
I
believe that this law is unconstitutional and an infringement of my First
Amendment rights. At the very least, the law should be re-written so as to allow
for some types of protesting at political events held in a residential area.
We
are to make our initial appearance in Flagstaff Municipal Court on Wednesday,
May 12, at 8:30 a.m. We cannot afford legal representation. I feel our case
would be an excellent opportunity for the AZCLU to put this unconstitutional law
to a test, and perhaps ultimately get the law changed. If you are able to advise
me in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I
have written at length about this incident on my Web site,
www.CarryaBigSticker.com. Use the link at the bottom of the page. I have
enclosed a hard-copy of the most relevant information.
I
look forward to hearing from you soon,
Dan
Frazier
