Double standard for Occupy Lincoln?

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LINCOLN — Between 20 and 30 Occupy Lincoln protesters remain camped out on the Centennial Mall downtown, even as protesters in other cities have been forced to pack up their tents and leave.

Their continued presence in Lincoln is drawing criticism from some who question whether the protesters are receiving special treatment from city officials.

"It just seems to some of us that there is a double standard," said Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, who recently appeared before the Lincoln City Council to voice her concerns.

City Attorney Rod Confer said Lincoln is treating the Occupy protesters as it would any other group that wants to gather and protest on the mall.

Nonetheless, he said, city officials have gotten some complaints, in particular about whether the protesters' tents will kill the grass on the mall. Confer said the city is considering whether to set a deadline for them to leave.

Omaha police evicted protesters from a public parking lot at 24th and Farnam Streets last month. In other cities, police have acted to curb or shut down protests, though Occupy D.C. members have mostly coexisted peacefully with police.

In Lincoln, Schmit-Albin and Shelli Dawdy, founder of Grassroots in Nebraska, which supports constitutionally limited government, base their favoritism complaints on several factors.

They question why the Occupy group was not required to obtain a city permit to be on Centennial Mall and why protesters been allowed to camp overnight. Schmit-Albin pointed out that her organization and the Lancaster County Republican Party both had to get permits for events there.

Confer said the city hasn't required protest groups to obtain a permit to be on the mall since April 2010.

A city ordinance requires such a permit for gatherings on park property, but Confer said the city stopped enforcing it after medical marijuana supporters and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska questioned its constitutionality.

Confer said similar ordinances requiring fees and permits for political protests and gatherings have been declared unconstitutional in other states. He said city officials plan to rewrite the ordinance.

He said the GOP and Right to Life events were held before the ordinance was challenged.

Confer also said Centennial Mall is not a city park, where staying overnight would be prohibited.

The grassy area that stretches seven blocks between streets from the State Capitol to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus is considered a public right of way, he said. It has sidewalks and is a high traffic area.

Schmit-Albin also complained about the Occupy group's use of a sign.

She said the city forced Right to Life to remove a vinyl banner from public right of way across the street from a Planned Parenthood location.

The Occupy protesters have put up a 5-by-6-foot communications board on the mall.

Confer said the Right to Life sign was not allowed because it was staked into the ground, making it a permanent structure. The Occupy Lincoln sign is allowed because it's held down by sandbags, he said.

Lincoln Occupy protester Jason Nord questioned whether the objecting groups are actually motivated by political disagreements with his movement.

"Free speech means that everybody gets the opportunity to talk," said Nord, a Lincoln teacher.

Dawdy said everyone should have to follow the same rules.

The Occupy Lincoln members have set up about 30 tents, including a kitchen tent and a library tent.

Nord said the protesters, who began their effort in mid-October, plan to stay until they feel politicians respond to their concerns.

Confer said the city and Lincoln police will closely monitor the group's activities. So far, they've caused few problems, he said.

On Tuesday, a camper was ticketed for having a wood-burning stove, he said. City officials also are considering whether to require a tent permit for a teepee on the site.

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