Shawnee Mission Free Speech Petition Stays Losing

A few local drunk uncles and our d-bag friends mistakenly believe that trolling people on corporate applications or sketchy blogs is constitutionally protected free speech. 

Sorry, it's not.

HOWEVER, peacefully speaking out a public government meeting is, in fact, part of direct democracy and the First Amendment.

Amid the ongoing COVID pandemic we've noticed that local government across the metro and the nation has restricted public comment and moved to discourage voters from participating in civic affairs. 

Here's one example out of many and a sign that this clamp down is happening in an otherwise conservative enclave, not just in "progressive" big cities . . . Even more interestingly, as we've noted . . . Keeping public meetings on Youtube isn't part of constitutional protections but upholding the right of the public speak at open meetings is very much the function of local government . . . So much so that moving video documentation of public proceedings might be worthy of consideration.

The basics . . .

"Shawnee Mission board members will vote July 26 on whether to stop streaming public comments on YouTube and whether to keep those comments limited to 30 minutes. It's a strategy the district started during the pandemic."

Like it or not, we notice the petition to protect free speech in JoCo isn't getting a lot of traction and might need more attention from JoCo leaders.

Read more . . .

Shawnee Mission parents push back against change to public comment policy at board meetings

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Some parents in the Shawnee Mission School District say a new policy could stifle their voices, and they're hoping an online petition can help them keep it. Shawnee Mission board members will vote July 26 on whether to stop streaming public comments on YouTube and whether to keep those comments limited to 30 minutes.