It's no secret that there are plenty of people that don't approve of Donald Trump and what he's doing as our current President. There have been two significant protests already in the first two weeks of Trump being in office. If you're one of those people that like going out and protesting for your cause, buckle up because it might just get a little bit harder.
While we've all been paying attention to the lightning rod that is Donald Trump, we've seemed to miss out on a few things that are going on that don't necessarily involve him. Most notably, states are enacting very odd rules about protestors and how to handle them.
In North Dakota, because of all the protests that are going on about the Dakota Access Pipeline, there has been a bill introduced to the legislature that would allow for people to run over protesters on the street and not be held accountable for their actions.
In Minnesota, some lawmakers don't think that the penalty for blocking traffic is harsh enough. If you're a protester on the freeway or street, a bill has been proposed to make that violation a $3,000 fine and a year in jail.
In my home state of Washington, a bill has been introduced to create a whole new crime. Literally a whole new crime nobody has heard of—economic terrorism. If you are allegedly stopping commerce or transportation then you will be slapped with a class C felony.
This is a direct assault on the freedom to assemble and protest. It really doesn't matter what you're protesting, it should never be allowed to be legal to hit you with a car. You also shouldn't be put in jail for a year for protesting in the street.
Protestors are a huge annoyance, that's what they are designed to do. They're supposed to be uncomfortable and in the way. In Washington, if the bill would have been around in during the civil rights era, all the boycotts of buses would be considered economic terrorism. Remember when you would see fire hoses being aimed at people and dogs attacking people in the 60s? Now picture citizens running over people in the street.
If you like your freedom to protest then make sure you call up your local legislatures and pay attention because this isn't going to stop anytime soon. States are considered laboratories for policy change. It may just start with 10, but it could move to more and possibly even a similar proposal at the federal level.
