H.R. 347 Would Make Many Forms of Nonviolent Protest Illegal

In February 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a law which, if signed into law by President Obama, will provisionally outlaw many forms of peaceful protest within the United States. The bill in question, H.R. 347 or The Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011, would make entering or remaining in areas defined as “restricted areas” a criminal offense, punishable by fining or imprisonment.

H.R. 347 uses non-specific language to define what areas can be designated as restricted, but the bill does state that these areas would include any building or grounds that is currently or will soon be visited by The President or any other person protected by the Secret Service, as well as the location of any event designated as of “national significance”, which can be designated arbitrarily by The Department of Homeland Security.

In his Daily Censored report, Weil suggests that this bill is designed to target the Occupy Movement, as it places restrictions on public assembly, which has been an integral tool of the Occupy Movement. Weil also claims that H.R. 347 is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

Title: Many forms of Occupy protests subjected to new bill making protests illegal

Author: Danny Weil

Publication: The Daily Censored, 5 March 2012

URL: http://dailycensored.com/2012/03/05/many-forms-of-occupy-protests-subjected-to-new-bill-making-protests-illegal

Title: Enacting the NDAA: Limiting Protesters’ Rights

Publication: Media Roots, 5 March 2012

Author: Oskar Mosquito

URL: http://mediaroots.org/enacting-the-ndaa-limiting-protesters-rights

Title: Bill Passes House: Protests Near Secret Service Protected Folk Effectively Outlawed

Author: Brian Doherty

Publication: Reason, 1 March 2012

URL: http://reason.com/blog/2012/03/01/bill-passes-house-protests-near-secret-s