Metro Council passes 4 ordinances to help reduce public displays of hate speech
Over the summer of 2024, the city of Nashville saw many hate groups and Neo Nazis throughout Nashville and Davidson County area.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Metro Council voted to pass four ordinances on third and final readings that could help to reduce hateful protests and public displays of hate speech in the Nashville and Davidson County area.
The ordinances include the following:
- An ordinance that will amend chapters 10.24 and 6.64 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws that will restrict the solicitation or distribution of handbills on private property to daylight hours.
- An ordinance that will amend section 11.12.040 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws regarding exemptions for wearing disguises in public places.
- An ordinance that will amend chapter 11.12 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws and create buffer zones to maintain public safety around public buildings and parking lots.
- An ordinance that will amend section 12.12.170 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws and prohibit the placement of unauthorized signs, signals, or markings over a highway.
Over the summer of 2024, the city of Nashville saw many hate groups and Neo Nazis throughout Nashville and Davidson County area including at Nashville Synagogues, on Due West Avenue, at Metro Council meetings, and more.
On July 14, one group of Black boys, who ranged in age from 9 to 14 years old encountered the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a neo-Nazi group out of Florida known to produce anti-Jewish propaganda. In a video recorded, GDL members were heckling the boys and referred to them with racial slurs to each other as the boys walked away.
Since the many demonstrations, Metro Council considered bills surrounding the hate groups.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell called for those changes. He said each of the ordinances are tied to those incidents.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Metro Council will discuss another ordinance, BL2024-469, that pertains to the criminal participation and related actions of employees of the Metro Government. When it was originally introduced, this ordinance was specifically aimed at the operations of the Metro Nashville Police Department.
The ordinance prohibits Metro employees from criminally participating in criminal hate groups and paramilitary gangs.
Both are defined as:
- “‘Hate Group’ means any person or group that, incites, or provides material supports for criminal acts or criminal conspiracies that promote violence toward racial, religious, ethnic, sexual, gender, or other groups or classes of individuals.”
- “‘Paramilitary Gang’ means person or group that advocates the overthrow of the U.S. Government or any state, municipality, tribal, or other government by force or violence or any unlawful means including as defined under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-314.
The ordinance was filed on July 9. In September, the ordinance was deferred on its second reading.
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