On legal and illegal assembly

Hickenlooper unsure what to do about Occupy Denver protesters at Capitol

Excerpt:

Should they stay, or should they go now?

Gov. John Hickenlooper didn't give a clear answer to that question Tuesday when asked about the growing Occupy Denver tent camp on a grassy lawn along Broadway that is part of the state Capitol complex.

Interviewed on radio station KOA- AM's Mike Rosen Show, the Democratic governor and former Denver mayor said he was concerned about the illegal encampment on state property but didn't indicate that he was prepared to order the State Patrol to clear out the park. Patrol officials said Sunday that they had no plans to remove the tents.

Hickenlooper told Rosen that he was unclear on his legal options.

Rosen asked if the state had told the tent campers they were violating the law

"We've absolutely told them that: 'You can't stay here,' " Hickenlooper said.

The governor seemed conflicted on the question of what to do about the tents, saying that he has "always supported the First Amendment" but had concerns about the camp.

"I will confess I worry about the precedent," Hickenlooper said. "If suddenly we have a park where people can camp out whenever they want, why not the next park and why not the park after that? And then suddenly, you don't have any rules."

In any case, the governor said, there weren't many tents on the lawn, saying: "I went down there this morning, and there were like eight tents, 10 tents. This is not a burgeoning metropolis of tents."

Comment: March, camp out, speak out, take out ads, have a blog, write to elected officials, put a sign out, but follow the law. The Occupy Movement seems be more of an anarchist movement. And that is not healthy!