As the First Amendment Restoration Campaign momentum continues to build, we are showing out to City Council along with our coalition partners to agitate for the repeal of the unconstitutional First Amendment Ordinance! Our public pressure has finally gotten to the Public Safety Committee and this is our time to make sure the council gets our demands written into law!

You can read more about that ordinance here, and view the petition. We have created talking points to help compose your comments here. There was also a Post and Courier article published about this unconstitutional overreach, which you can read here. 

We are continuing our efforts to agitate to have this ordinance overturned by turning out to the next Charleston City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall 80 Broad Street.

❗After the meeting, pop over to Charleston County Council at 6:30pm for a community picket and rally with the Elbit Out of SC campaign to demand Charleston County end it's rotten FILOT agreement with Elbit Systems!

💡Here’s some information to help you feel prepared💡

🔺This is a critical time for the campaign and we want to put forth a unified message.

• We stand for full repeal of the ordinance.

• The chief of police should never have the final say. We demand a citizen or neutral review board for any permits required.

• We demand decriminalization for protesting. Protesting is not a crime!

• The public forum should remain available to us all. Marion Square included.

🔺Sign Up to Speak During the Public Comment Period - To speak in-person at the meeting, you’ll need to sign up for public comment before the meeting begins at 5:00 PM. We are encouraging people to arrive around 4:30 PM to ensure you get a chance to sign up. IMPORTANT: They only allow for 30 speakers, which means you may have as little as 60 seconds to speak. That goes extremely quickly! An averagely paced speaker can say 130 words in 60 seconds.  Please use the below to draft your own personal comments, and practice them before you come:

• My name is _________ and I live in [city/neighborhood/council district]. I call on this Council to repeal its unconstitutional 1st Amendment demonstration ordinance.

• Five years ago, this law was passed without any public input as part of a nationwide wave of anti-protest legislation in 2021 – specifically to criminalize speech in defense of Black lives following the international George Floyd Uprisings. 

• Since then, nationwide repression of free speech and attacks on our constitutional right to protest injustice has only increased. In Charleston, this ordinance has since been used to specifically criminalize speech defending the lives and rights of immigrant, undocumented, and Palestinian people.

• [Insert one specific way this has impacted you or your family/community – i.e. why is this important to you personally] 

• This law does NOT improve public safety. Instead, it endangers every single one of us because when free speech is criminalized, every other one of our fundamental rights is up for attack. 

🔺If you are planning to speak, It’s ok to read off a sheet if that helps, or to prep yourself with some bullet points. Just be sure to practice before! We will have a few scripts available for anyone with writer’s block 🙂

🔺If you aren’t able to attend in person but would still like to make your voice heard, you may leave a voicemail comment at 843-579-6313. You also have the option to submit a written comment by completing this form. They must be submitted by Monday, September 7th at 12:00 PM. These comments won’t be read aloud at the meeting, but they will be reflected in the official record. 

🌹SHOW UP!🌹

Even if you don’t plan to speak, your presence makes a difference. Come stand in solidarity with others who are raising their voices. Wear red or your DSA merch!