A 12-foot ''alligator'' made of cloth and PVC tubes and piloted by six protesters paraded at Miami City Hall on Thursday to show commissioners what kinds of props would be banned if the commission approved a new law designed to control demonstrations at the upcoming free trade meeting.
The commission, which scuttled a more aggressive version of the law, gave preliminary approval to a tamer version Thursday, outlawing objects that include glass bottles, water balloons, and water guns from parades and protests within city boundaries.
The commission must take a final vote on the rules Nov. 13, just days before the Nov. 20-21 ministerial meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Civil liberties groups said they will continue to oppose the new rules.
''This ordinance is discriminatory against people who protest against the FTAA,'' said local activist Max Rameau.
VOTES EXPLAINED
In explaining their votes, several commissioners said they were uncomfortable with the law, but felt it may be necessary to help curb the kinds of anti-free trade protests that have turned violent and costly in cities such as Seattle and Cancún.
''None of us are terribly comfortable about this ordinance,'' commission Chairman Johnny Winton said.
Miami police Deputy Chief Frank Fernandez said it is important for the city to strike a balance between empowering police and preserving the rights of protesters.
''It's a difficult balance to strike, but I think the City Attorney's Office has done the best they can to strike that balance,'' he said.
The commission rejected an earlier version of the law that would have also banned gas masks and bullet-proof vests and would have expired after the November meeting. Civil rights advocates had argued that the sunset date on the old version would have unconstitutionally targeted a specific event.
They say the new version of the law is still objectionable.
''The ordinances are targeted at one particular demonstration, to squelch one particular set of ideas,'' said Jeanne Baker, president of the Florida Board of the American Civil Liberties Union.
BANNED ITEMS
A group of about two dozen activists gathered at City Hall to showcase some of the items that they say would be banned under the proposed ordinance: stilts, signs held up by wood sticks and the 12-foot gator.
''We're concerned because we possess objects that are in the ordinance,'' said Melodie Malfa, 26, a member of the anti-FTAA Lake Worth Global Justice Group.
At one point in the meeting, Commissioner Arthur E. Teele Jr. asked whether stilts would be banned.
He said he worried because stilt walkers are a staple in the annual Bahamian Goombay Festival.
''I cannot support any ordinance that clearly outlaws what is a purely innocent activity,'' Teele said.
Commissioners asked the city attorney to make sure stilts are not banned.
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