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No, Governor, You Can’t Cancel Our First Amendment Rights

Photograph Source: Gage Skidmore – CC BY-SA 4.0

There’s not much ambiguity in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  It reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Yet, as just reported, Montana’s Gov. Greg Gianforte has decided he has the power to simply cancel Montanans’ right to “peaceably assemble” and “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”  How?  By restricting permits to gather at the Capitol — and “all state-owned or leased spaces” in the Capitol Complex — to weekdays only, between “7 a.m. and 6 p.m.”

Yep, you read that right.  The old saying that “when fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible” has once again proved all too true as our Bible-clutching, flag-waving, MAGA patriot governor, says he won’t issue permits for any events that use sound stages on the weekends to, get this, save money.

This may be the first time you’ve heard about this draconian attempt to gut our Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly since Gianforte decided the public didn’t need to be — and wasn’t — informed of the permit change.

The single largest rally at the Capitol in recent times was the No Kings event that drew thousands of Montanans from all across our vast state to protest the policies of our current president who, like Gianforte, apparently doesn’t think citizens who disagree with their policies and how they’re running our state and nation have the right to gather and express their concerns and opposition.  It’s no coincidence the change comes before the nationwide No Kings rally already scheduled for March 28 – a weekend.

We know the president doesn’t read, but surely Gianforte can see the simple language of the First Amendment does not include a provision that says these foundational rights can be canceled to “save money” — or for any other reason.

Moreover, Montana’s Constitution contains nearly identical language under Article II, Declaration of Rights, Sec. 6: “Freedom of assembly.  The people shall have the right peaceably to assemble, petition for redress or peaceably protest governmental action.”  Nowhere does it say these rights and freedoms can be taken away by a rule change.

Perhaps, being a mega-millionaire, Gianforte has forgotten that most people have to work during the week to support their families, pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads — all of which has become much more difficult.  Clearly, the strong-arm “no weekends rally” rule intentionally counts on citizens not being able to afford to lose pay to attend a weekday rally.

The restriction is obviously aimed at protest rallies by non-MAGA citizens and groups. But farmers and ranchers who can’t afford to put diesel in their trucks and tractors or buy fertilizer for their fields may well want to rally on weekends, too.  Why?  Because the price of oil is expected to go as high as $200 a barrel due entirely to the hugely unpopular and unnecessary war the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran, which has closed the Straits of Hormuz through which 20% of the world’s oil flows every day.

History is replete with authoritarians who try to restrict citizens’ rights.  But history is also replete with resulting violence when the options for peaceable protest are denied — and make no mistake, denying our rights and freedoms is exactly what Gianforte’s unconstitutional rule is intended to do.

George Ochenski is a columnist for the Daily Montanan, where this essay originally appeared.

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