Town may require permits for demonstrations
By: Cara Latham
MILLSTONE The Township Committee is drafting ordinances that would limit demonstrations at the township’s Veterans Memorial and require permits for those that take place during parades and other assemblies.
Suggestions for the ordinances have been made by the township’s Veterans Memorial Council, which had previously asked the committee for protection for families mourning their relatives at the Stagecoach Road site at the Municipal Building.
Drafts of the ordinances have been going back and forth between township officials, Township Attorney Duane Davison, and the council. The latest was discussed at the July 5 Township Committee meeting.
Proposed restrictions include parade or demonstration permits, limitations on the types of demonstration, and a 150-foot distance requirement from any event happening at the memorial, Mayor Nancy Grbelja said Monday.
These proposed ordinances are to ensure that people who come to remember their loved ones that have lost their lives for the country, or veterans who go there to reflect on what they went through won’t be disturbed by demonstrations, she said.
Richard Brody, Veterans Memorial Council chairman, said his group wants to have the environment at the memorial protected as much as possible.
He said he attended a Memorial Day service at Arlington National Cemetery a couple years ago, where a group of people protested right outside the cemetery as people were coming in to mourn their loved ones, and he didn’t want to see such a situation happen in Millstone.
Such situations prompted the federal Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act, which was signed in May 2006, and he said he wanted to ensure the township’s memorial was also protected.
The law prohibits demonstration beginning 60 minutes before and ending 60 minutes after a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony held on the property of a cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration or on the property of Arlington National Cemetery.
The act applies to demonstrations that take place within 150 feet of an entry or exit of a funeral or ceremony, or one taking place within 300 feet of the cemetery that hinders the access to or from the cemetery.
"The United States government had a compelling interest in securing the rights of the family members to mourn peacefully without having demonstrators in their face," Mr. Brody said.
He said the Veterans Memorial Council, while wanting to protect the sanctity of the memorial, also does not want to infringe on anyone’s rights.
"Those of us who served in the military have put our lives on the line and know people who lost their lives to protect the rights of Americans to have free speech," he said. "It’s very important to us."
He also referenced the federal Protect Our Veterans Memorial Act that was introduced in February, which, if signed into law, would extend federal jurisdiction over destruction of veterans memorials on a state or local government property.
New Jersey has a law that makes it a disorderly persons offense for someone to disrupt a funeral.
The restrictions in the state law prohibit demonstrations or protests during the period beginning one hour prior to and until one hour following the completion of the funeral. It also prohibits a person from impeding on the entry or exit from the funeral, the funeral procession, or at the place of public worship or other location at which a funeral takes place. And it prohibits the demonstrations within 500 feet of those areas.
Committeeman Elias Abilheira said while he agrees that those who visit the memorial should not be subject to harassment and that the memorial site should be used the way it was intended, he had concerns that certain groups might attack the ordinances for the sake of doing so.
But, "we’re going to make sure that whatever law we do have isn’t going to infringe upon anyone’s freedom of speech rights."
Mayor Grbelja said township officials were reviewing further suggestions by the Veterans Council and might be able to introduce the ordinances July 18 or during the first meeting in August.
"Just as the veterans have fought to protect our rights to free speech, we wanted to make sure that by having an ordinance, we didn’t take away those rights those veterans have protected," she said.
She said she is not expecting any challenges to the ordinances, if passed, because people who may want to express themselves will still have the opportunity to do so.

