We have recently learned that Greenville County Council will consider a new County Ordinance tomorrow to address issues resulting from public protests / picketing in the county based upon their published agenda.
Please note that the location and time of the meeting are on the top of the Agenda:
GREENVILLE COUNTY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
October 17, 2023, 6:00 pm, in Council Chambers located at301 University Ridge, Greenville
While SCCarry believes it's important to ensure public safety during such events, it is also equally important to ensure no regulations violate any citizen's rights guaranteed under the Constitutions of both the United States and South Carolina.
With that in mind, there are many issues with the current language of the ordinance which is listed as Agenda item 12c that is found here.
In Section 3, A (1):
- It is unclear how, in the absence of a sidewalk, picketers may gather in areas that are considered rights-of-way and therefore public in nature;
In Section 3, A (4):
- The "immediate area" is not clearly defined leaving room for much confusion;
- Part (i) appears to prevent anyone from carrying a backpack, tote bag or similar item commonly used by many when going about their normal, daily lives anywhere near a "picketing area" which would have unintended consequences for many individuals who needed to be in the area but were not participating in the picketing;
- Part (ii) appears to imply carrying a firearm in any manner in a public area would become illegal and such a declaration would violate S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-510
- Part (iii) seems to imply the OPEN carrying of firearms would be prohibited at all times in a public area in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-520 which requires such restriction to only be during a "permitted event" for a "specific duration of time"
- Part (viii) seems to indicate the "immediate area where the picketing is occurring" must be free from all vehicles yet it is unclear how this would be accomplished in areas where "on the street" parking is near the picketing "designated area";
Below is the contact information for the Greenville County Council:
Michael Barnes --- MBarnes@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-877-9457
Benton Blount --- bblount@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-483-2474
Rick Bradley --- rbradley@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-483-3090
Ennis Fant --- EFant@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-467-2787
Chris Harrison --- CHarrison@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-467-4917
Butch Kirven --- bkirven@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-228-9300
Alan Mitchell --- amitchell@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-483-6952
Joey Russo --- jrusso@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-483-0689
Liz Seman --- lseman@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-501-4126
Steve Shaw --- SShaw@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-553-9713
Dan Tripp --- DTripp@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-915-9212
Stan Tzouvelekas --- stantz@greenvillecounty.org --- 864-467-4958
We are encouraging everyone to attend the meeting tomorrow night and to also reach out to these council members by phone or email and let them know you do not want them to enact any ordinances that would violate any citizen's rights under the Constitutions of the United States or South Carolina!