After several recent protests outside Congressman Lou Correa’s home, Santa Ana officials are slated to consider implementing a new law that would curb protests in front of homes.
Correa’s Santa Ana home became the latest hotspot for protests, where demonstrators have routinely urged the congressman to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Now, Santa Ana City Council members are expected to vote at their Tuesday meeting on an urgency ordinance to implement a 300 feet buffer zone between targeted residential protests and the resident’s property line.
To watch the 5:30 p.m meeting, click here.
Critics say the proposed ordinance is a violation of their First Amendment rights, while officials say it’s needed to protect residents.
Mohamad Abdel Fattah, a Palestinian American and cofounder of Orange County for Justice in Palestine, said in a Friday interview the city is trying to stifle any community support for Palestine.
“With this new item on the agenda, they’re trying to prevent us from expressing our First Amendment right to speak publicly about issues that affect us,” he said. “I’m not surprised, but it just goes to show you what people in power will do to stifle or suppress the voice of the community.”
Fattah’s group helped organize the latest protest outside Correa’s Santa Ana home last Friday.
Meanwhile, city officials say the ordinance is intended to protect a resident’s right to privacy and safety at their home at a time when there has been an increase of protests outside specific homes.
“Targeted picketing not only harasses and intimidates occupants of a target home (and other homes in close proximity to the targeted residence) but it is intrusive upon those individuals’ right to privacy in their home,” reads a staff report.
Correa did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Councilmembers Phil Bacerra, David Penaloza, Thai Viet Phan and Jessie Lopez did not respond to requests for comment Monday either.
In a Monday phone interview, Councilman Ben Vazquez said the ordinance also comes after a protest outside Amezcua’s birthday fundraiser.
Vazquez says protests come with elected office.
“Protests are just part of the livelihood that we’ve signed up for,” he said, adding that protestors should try various ways to call on elected officials to take action. “I will not be supporting this.”
Vazquez isn’t the only council member against the ordinance.
Councilman Johnathan Hernandez said in a Monday phone interview that the government should not dictate where people can protest.
“I don’t know what has occurred in front of anyone’s home, or in front of anyone’s residence or place of work that even requires an ordinance like this to come forward,” he said.
Hernandez said the proposed ordinance is politically motivated and that elected officials like Amezcua are using public resources for their own benefit.
“There was a private political fundraiser for her reelection, where she utilized public resources to stifle community members and to kick them out of her political fundraiser. She used police officers,” he said.
“My concern is that there are public resources that are being used to shield elected officials from their constituents,” Hernandez said.
In Orange County, government officials are no strangers to protests outside their homes.
Dr. Nichole Quick, the former Orange County health officer, faced protests outside her home after implementing a countywide mask order during the height of the COVID pandemic. She ended up resigning from her job.
OC Supervisor Katrina Foley also faced a series of protests at her home over her support of masks and other pandemic measures.
The expected Tuesday discussion comes two weeks after Santa Ana officials adopted a resolution calling for a bilateral ceasefire and two-state solution in Israel and Palestine following months of pressure from a host of activists and residents to do so.
[Read: Santa Ana Calls For Bilateral Ceasefire in Palestine and Israel]
Other cities in Orange County, like Irvine, decided against wading into the conflict.
A First Amendment Violation?
David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said in a Friday phone interview that the Supreme Court has upheld a similar ordinance in a case called Frisby v. Shultz in the 1980s.
“I’m always for protecting the max amount of freedom of speech, but I’m not sure that this would under current Supreme Court law violate the First Amendment,” he said.
Others however are still raising First Amendment violation concerns.
Omar Zegar, a Palestinian American who helped organize Friday’s protest outside Correa’s house and was kicked out of Amezcua’s political fundraiser by police earlier this year, said the proposal is an effort to strip away their constitutional right to free speech.
“It’s not personal with Lou. We’re protesting for an end to this war. We want a ceasefire so children can live and we’re using our First Amendment right to keep pushing and keep protesting,” Zegar said.
“I feel bad for inconveniencing his family and that they have to deal with this. It’s just because he’s our elected official for this area so we can’t quit on him.”
Zegar isn’t alone.
Fernando Deveras, a local activist, said in a Friday text message that he recognized the protests are disruptive, but that’s also the point.
He said the city is trying to silence protestors from calling for a ceasefire – something a majority of elected officials formally did two weeks ago.
“It is a way for people to have their voices heard when Representatives like Lou Correa refuse to listen,” Deveras wrote. “Santa Ana has a rich history of protest movements and community organizing efforts. An anti-Free Speech ordinance like this does not belong in our city.”
Hairo Cortes, founder of Chispa, said the proposed ordinance along with a media policy last year that limits where the press can film, photograph and record city council meetings shows a pattern from elected officials.
“It’s concerning,” he said in a Friday interview. “It sets a really bad precedent for how the city might view free speech and the right to protest.”
Protests at the Homes & Offices of Elected Officials
Correa hasn’t been the only member of congress in OC to face protests and demands to call for a ceasefire.
In the last six months or so, there have been similar protests at events and outside the offices of other local Congressional Representatives like Mike Levin, Katie Porter and Michelle Steele.
Residents have been calling and emailing their elected officials as well.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
