Rights group sues Pittsburgh for failure to issue G-20 protest permits News
Rights group sues Pittsburgh for failure to issue G-20 protest permits

[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] Friday in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania [official website] claiming that the US Secret Service, the City of Pittsburgh, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources [official websites] are acting illegally by failing to issue protest permits for the Group of 20 (G-20) [official website] summit scheduled in Pittsburgh [official website] on September 24-25. The ACLU claims that the failure to issue protest permits for certain areas of the City, notably Point State Park, Schenley Park [official websites], East Park, and Riverfront Park to groups including Thomas Merton center [advocacy website], is a violation of the First Amendment right to peaceful protest. In its complaint, the rights group argued for injunctive and declaratory relief claiming that only two protest permits have been issued so far for the G-20, and those two permits were far away from downtown Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl [official profile] said previously that the city has issued eight permits [Chicago Tribune report] so far and may issue more in the future. The City has also announced that it will lease [AP report] a downtown parking lot and two other sites [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report] for the benefit of protesters. A law to ban masks and hoods [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report] was voted down by the City Council last week.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.