A few weeks back, I was watching the Santa Barbara City Council meeting live, startled suddenly by one speaker’s public comment that the council restrict what may or may not be addressed by the general public. I listened as Anna Marie Gott spoke in reaction against another speaker’s earlier comments in support of the Trump administration. For the past month, Caroline Abate has, every Tuesday, allotted her two minutes to speak in support of President Trump’s policies. As I see it, this is strictly a First Amendment rights issue.
Anna Marie and I could discuss, I am sure, her reasons for wanting Public Comment restricted to issues directly relevant to Santa Barbara (and she would lose that debate). However, when she detoured into a vitriolic attack of President Trump, she revealed something else entirely. And that was that she wanted to silence speech that she found offensive. The Supreme Court settled that argument about 40 years ago.
Anna Marie spoke against the protections afforded all people inside our country — the right to speak freely and openly. A right that this newspaper supports unequivocally.