By Evan Bevins, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — The ACLU of West Virginia warned Parkersburg City Council in a letter that it could face legal action over prohibiting speakers at its meeting from talking about individual members.
“The ability to criticize government officials is part of the foundation of our democracy,” said Aubrey Sparks, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia. “Free speech by nature includes criticism of government officials. Parkersburg City Council has a choice: They can grow thicker skin or we’ll see them in court.”
The public forum portion of council meetings has been a point of debate this year, with members voting 6-3 on March 11 to limit topics that could be addressed to items appearing on the agenda. The new rule was tested March 25 by two speakers, one of whom tried to address a public statement issued about a vacant house fire and the other who linked the date of an upcoming council meeting, which was on the agenda, to the death of President Abraham Lincoln on the same day, April 15, in 1865.
