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Lawmakers concerned about the Occupy Nashville encampment next to the state Capitol are promoting a bill that would criminalize camping on public property across the state.
House Judiciary Chairman Eric Watson, who has a clear view of the 60-or-so tents from his office window, is sponsoring the legislation. He mentioned several reasons for wanting the encampment gone, including a couple last year having sex near his windows.
“A fight broke out yesterday,” he said Wednesday, “and there was a guy streaking today, running out here naked.”
But he said the main reason for the bill was to ensure equal access to the plaza for other groups, including schools that put on musical programs there.
“They’ve been reluctant to come up here. We’ve even had weddings put off,” Watson said.
The bill, which would make it a misdemeanor to “maintain living quarters on publicly owned property that is not designated or permitted for residential use,” comes several months after Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration lost a legal battle over a curfew that was used to temporarily dislodge the encampment.
Attorney David Briley, who successfully represented Occupy Nashville protesters in that action, said the new bill is “problematic when it comes to the First Amendment.”
Briley also said it is so broad that it is likely to have unintended consequences.
“For example, state legislators who sleep in their offices — would they be committing a crime?” he asked.
Briley said he is willing to work with the state to issue rules for the plaza that don’t trample protesters’ rights, but he thinks it should be done following the administrative procedures established for such rulemaking. Haslam’s administration currently is developing rules through that process, which requires public input.
Asked last week about the bill, Haslam said he would want it to be vetted by the state Attorney General’s office.
“But we’re basically, as the administration, following this rulemaking procedure, which is what the judge said was lacking before,” he said.
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