Protect Free Speech and Cultural Expression
For more than a year, the City of Madison has slowly been co-opting our public spaces and constricting free speech and artistic expression.
In a blatant violation of 1st Amendment rights, activists have been fined hundreds of dollars for chalking on the sidewalk and selling political literature*. Now, the City of Madison has proposed imposing fees on artists and musicians.
State Street has long been a meeting place of culture and dissent in Madison. We wonât let them balance the budget on the back of struggling artists, and in a time of endless war and economic crisis, free speech and political literature is more important that ever.
We, the undersigned, demand that public spaces remain available, free of charge, to artistic and political expression, including the sale and distribution of literature.