Picketing at Guv's Mansion OK

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Activists can continue to sing Christmas carols and picket outside the Governor's Mansion without fear of arrest. Salt Lake City Attorney Ed Rutan has concluded the Governor's Mansion does not fall under the new city ordinance prohibiting picketing within 100 feet of private residences.

Though the Governor and his family live at the Mansion, Rutan says the building is also the Governor's place of work and the site of public meetings. Therefore, Rutan says, the Governor's Mansion is not a private residence. A group of low-income advocates first raised the concern after the Salt Lake City Council passed the picketing ordinance three weeks ago.

The Anti-Hunger Action Committee has since filed suit over the rule. Their attorney Brian Barnard says clarification about the Governor's Mansion does not alleviate all of his concerns with the ordinance, and his client has not decided whether to drop the lawsuit or move ahead based on other free-speech concerns.

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