Roanoke Rediscovers the First Amendment

In September, after the City of Roanoke completed a year-long, $7.9 million renovation to the 90 year-old Market Building–the anchor of Roanoke’s downtown market area–the building’s lessee, Market Building Foundation, refused to allow members of Plowshare Peace and Justice Center to resume the monthly anti-war protests it has held on a Campbell Avenue sidewalk in front of the Market Building since 1878.  Plowshare sued the foundation in November, arguing that the Market Building Foundation’s decision affected “…the right for all citizens to peacefully demonstrate on our public sidewalks.”

The Market Building Foundation was able to forbid the protests because the City of Roanoke not only leased the Market Building to the private Market Building Foundation, but also the sidewalks surrounding the Market Building.  The foundation did allow Plowshare activists to use a sidewalk behind the building adjacent to a less-traveled street.

All parties reached an agreement over the weekend whereby the city would itself lease five-feet of sidewalk in front of the building from the foundation that could be used by any protestors.

I will be the first to admit that I don’t share the views of the peace-at-any-costs crowd, but our armed forces have fought and died to preserve the right to protest.  So why would the City of Roanoke, knowing that citizens protest along this very public sidewalk in arguably the most significant area of the city, lease the sidewalk to a private organization, which could in turn ban public protest?

It’s not the content of the protest that should worry citizens as much as a government’s belief that it can tacitly block protest.  Roanoke was rightly called on this and was taught a valuable lesson on the First Amendment in the process.

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About the author

Jason Johnson

A lifelong political junkie, Jason caught the political bug as a fifth grader after meeting George Allen in 1993. Since then he has studied political science at both the undergraduate and graduate level. When not perusing the blogs or volunteering for conservative Republicans, Jason enjoys cheering on his beloved Virginia Tech Hokies and spending time at his Bedford County home.