ACTIVISTS PROTEST LEAFLET BAN IN YBOR CITY

TAMPA - About 15 activists took to the streets of busy Seventh Avenue in
Ybor City on Saturday night to protest what they said is an
unconstitutional Tampa Police Department crackdown on distributing
political literature in the entertainment district. Protesters, including
Mons Venus owner Joe Redner, passed out leaflets citing U.S. Supreme Court
cases upholding free-speech rights.

"We're doing what the city should have done in the first place," Redner
said. "To tell them [the police] they can't go around doing things that
are against the law."

Anthony Lorenzo, a 27-year-old college student, was one of the protesters.
Lorenzo said he was arrested by police in Ybor City at Guavaween for
distributing leaflets in support of reforming marijuana laws.

Lorenzo, the volunteer coordinator of the Florida Cannabis Action Network,
said he was charged with violating a 2-year-old city ordinance that
precludes the distribution of leaflets in Ybor City by people who haven't
obtained a $150 city permit.

"We came here to educate the police," Lorenzo said. "Apparently, they
don't understand that the First Amendment applies throughout America."

Protesters say city officials are using the ordinance, meant to limit Ybor
City businesses from passing out advertising handbills outside their bars
and restaurants, to clamp down on political expression.

Pubdate: Sunday, November 10, 2002
Source: Tampa Tribune
Contact: tribletters@tampatrib.com
Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/