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Klan Denied Permit
The Summerville City
Council, after two called
meetings and against the ad
vice of its attorney, voted Mon
day night to deny the Ku Klux
Klan a permit for a public ad
dress (PA) system at a May 13
rally at the Chattooga County
Courthouse,
The 3-1 vote came during a
record two-minute meeting
Monday during which time the
issue wasn't discussed. The
panel had talked about the
matter at length during a call
ed meeting last Friday evenin%
but postponed any action unti
Monday night. The Klan was
to have been notified of the
decision Tuesday.
LEGAL ACTION
Klan officials said at the
council's March 13 meeting
that rejection of the group's re
quest would lead to legal action
against the city, baseg on court
decisions they said upheld the
Klan's right to use a PA
system. Both Mayor Sewell
Cash, who couldn’t vote on the
issue, and Councilman Ed
Bush have expressed concern
about the potential financial
liability to both the city
government and individual ci
ty officials responsible for the
denial.
Councilman Guinn
Hankins, who wasn’t present
at last Friday's meeting, made
a motion Monday night to
deny the Klan's request. His
proposal received a second
from Councilman Ira Pollard,
the only black member of the
panel. Both Hankins and
Pollard voted for the motion,
along with Councilman Ronnie
Pilcher, who wasn't at last Fri
day night's meeting.. Bush
voted against denying the re
quest. Councilman Phil Cavin,
who attended last Friday's
meeting, wasn't present Mon
day night. Cash was at both
meetings.
OPPOSITION
Both Cash and Bush in
dicated their opposition to the
Klan but expressed concern
last week and after Monday
night's meeting about the ci
ty's financial %iability if the
Klan challenges the decision in
court.
Branch Connelly, the city's
new attorney, warned the coun
cil in writing last Friday night
that “‘any action by the city in
totally prohibiting sound
amplification equipment could
also expose the city, its mayor
and council to . . Xegal action
whereby the Ku Klux Klan
sought to enforce its right to
free speech.” Connelly didn't
utten(? the council’'s meeting
Monday night although he was
at last Friday's session, where
he discussed the issue at length
with members of the panel.
He said he had undertaken
an ‘‘exhaustive review" of
various court decisions that ad
dressed the sound amplifica
tion issue before rendering his
opinion. When the Klan's re
quest is evaluated in the light
of the First Amendment
guaranteeing free speech, Con
nelly told the council in his let
ter dated March 28, “‘the bet
ter course is to authorize the
use of a public address system
by the Ku Klux Klan for a
specific time period during
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their planned rally on May
W
COURT RULING
He attached to his letter a
copy of a Fifth Circuit U. S.
Court of Appeals ruling of Nov.
24, 1980 that upheld a decision
in favor of the use of PA equip
ment. That decision was hand
ed down in U. S. District Court
for the Southern District of
Texas. The attorney said it was
the leading case on the issue.
Connelly also said he had
reviewed a similar court case
presented to the Council by the
Klan on March 13.
Councilman Pollard said
Friday night that he planned to
oppose the request for a permit
but would ?a%ide by a court
decision addressed specifically
to Summerville.
Connelly said Friday if the
council denied the Klan's re
quest and the F’roup then went
to court it could probably seek
monetary damages under the
Civil Rights Act. “I will go
before Judge (Harold) Murphy
(U. S. District Court judge at
Rome) but be advised that the
city will probably lose,” he told
the panel. The Klan probabhy
will go to court, Connelly said,
to assert its First Amendment
right and to gain additional
publicity for &e rally. ‘“The
spector of damages remains
viable,” he warned.
WHISPERED
The attorney's comments
about damages came in
response to a whispered ques
tion Friday by gounci(llman
Cavin.
Cavin then moved to table
the Klan issue until April 10 —
the date that Cash hats told the
white supremacist group that
it would be given a decision.
Bush seconded the motion and
asked Connelly for a list in
writing of restrictions that the
city could place on the Klan.
Pollard voted against tabling
the issue. Mayor Cash in
dicated several times Friday he
preferred that the council hand
down a decision prior to that
date "to help prevent pro
blems.” Summerville Police
Chief Arlen Thomas had also
asked that the decision be
made before April 10.
After a lengthy discussion
— which covered other issues
— Bush and Cavin agreed to
withdraw their earlier action.
Pollard abstained on the
withdrawal vote. Bush said he
wanted all members of the
council to vote on the matter —
although all members had been
notified of last FridaK‘s special
meeting. Cavin said he was dg(r
ing to be out of town Monday
but would try to return. He
didn’t make it back.
“FIRST ISSUE”
Robert Fuller, a 20-year-old
black man last Friday en
couraged the council to vote
against the Klan's request, in
dicating that it might be dif
ficult for local blacks to avoid
a confrontation. ‘‘The riot issue
needs to be looked at a little
closer,” he told the panel.
The Rev. Mike Cavin,
pastor of the First United
Methodist Church of Summer
ville, also asked the council last
Friday to vote against the
Klan's request. He encouraged
the council to do all it can to
prevent use of a PA system.
“*Some fights are worth it even
if you know you will lose,” he
said. If a PA system is used by
the Klan, there's no way he or
his family can avoid hearing
the group's remarks because
the church parsonage is so
cquie to the downtown area, he
said,
“The long and short of it is
that we're not going to be able
to restrict an amplification
equipment ... " lawyer Con
nelly told the council at the
beginning of Friday's meeting.
OBSCENITIES
Grady McCalmon, city
mana%er. asked whether the ci
ty could keep the Klan from us
ing obscenities.
Chief Thomas said he felt
that some of the comments
made by the Klan against
blacks at a similar rally last
August were ‘‘borderline”” but
he was advised by the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation (Ggl)
that the city couldn't win a
court case if arrests were made
on the obscenity issue. The
Klan knows “‘how far” it can go
in making comments, Thomas
continueg, and it probably
won't ‘‘go over the line.”
Connell said the city should
advise the Klan about the state
law on ‘‘fighting words' and
vulgarity in advance of the
rally.
“EXTREMIST”
Mayor Cash said he didn’t
believe in allowing any ‘“‘ex
tremist’’ group to incite a riot
in the city or to disturb the
peace. The question, he said
Friday, was whether the city
would listen to the advice of its
attorney to prepare to go to
court. i
In response to another
question, (gonnelly said if the
city can show evidence that the
Klan's appearance would result
in a riot, it would strengthen
the city’'s case in court. But
“suslpicion" that a riot might
result from the rally won't suf
fice, he told the council.
Cash said he was convinced
that the Klan would use a PA
system ‘‘to make their obnox
ious comments or whatever’’ at
the rally. But he said he didn't
relish tKe idea of spending tax-
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GTE Gives To Hospital
GTE Service Manager Rodney Hannah (R) is shown
presenting Dan Sweitzer, Chattooga County Hospital
executive director, a GTE check for SI,OOO. It
represents GTE'’s contribution to the Chattooga Cares
fund drive. ‘‘We recognize that it is in our employees’
and customers’ best interest to do everything we can
to ensure that quality medical care is available in Chat
tooga County,” said Hannah. “We hope that this and
other such contributions from the business communi
ty will help the hospital pave the way to a very bright
future here.”
CHS Teen Injured
In School Attack
A 16-year-old juvenile was charged with simple battery
last week after an altercation at Chattooga High School
that may have involved brass knuckles.
The incident occurred at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, March
29, accordir}g to a report filed by Chattooga Sheriff's Dep.
Richard Gifford, but it wasn't reported to lawmen until 3:F5
.m.
p Brad Bass, 17, Cloudland, received two stitches to his
cheek and two more to the back of his head, the report said.
Although the youngster indicated that brass knuckles had
been used in the assault, none was found, the lawman
reported.
The 16-year-old Summerville youth suspected in the at
tack was brought to the Chattooga Jail at 11 p.m. that
same day, charged with simple battery and released to the
custody of his father, the report said.
payers' money to fight a losing
cause., He cafl'ed the situation
“‘an obnoxious pill to swallow.”
He said the Kfim last August
had briefly poisoned the at
mosphere between some blacks
and whites in the county after
the rally in Summerville and a
cross-burning at Lyerly.
PRESSURE BUILDS
Fuller said pressure is
building in the black communi-
R' over the Klan rally. If the
lan does bring a violence-
Erone white supremacist groug
nown as the ‘‘skinheads” wit
them on May 13, black people
will turn out to meet the
“‘challenge,”” he indicated.
Fuller sai%i he realized that the
Klan wants a confrontation
“but people aren’t that smart
andkwill step forward and at
tack.”
Connelly said the city could
close Summerville down for the
one hour that the Klan is in
town. Referring to the PA
system permit ordinance, the
lawyer commented, *‘lt's unfor
tunate we can't be selective
how we enforce it,”" but added
that such action could lead to
curtailment of ‘‘legitimate
speech.”
If area whites and blacks
would stay away from the ral
ly, it wouldn't play into the
hands of the Klan, Chief
Thomas said. The Klan has
reportedly said that its rally in
Summerville and at Lyerly f’ast
August was its most successful
in a series because of the
hostile reaction it got from area
blacks, the chief said.
CAR WEDGE
Thomas said lawmen are
considering a wedge of patrol
cars aroung the rally site at the
courthouse and keeping spec
tators farther away from the
rally than they were last
August. “They (the Klan)
thrive on confrontation,” he
warned.
The council went cn to
other business after Cavin's
motion to table the matter un
til April 10 but came back to it
a short time later after Mayor
Cash indicated that he wanted
a decision prior to that date.
Thomas also said he preferred
to fight the issue in tfie courts
rather than ‘‘on the streets.’’
AL
HAPPENING
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