Virginia: Occupy Members to Petition for Right to Gather in Public Space
Occupy Winston-Salem members, saying their rights to free speech and assembly are slipping away, on Saturday began collecting signatures on a petition calling on the Winston-Salem City Council to “respect and uphold the right of citizen groups to conduct open-air meetings on city property.”
Members of Occupy Winston-Salem and Walkupy, a group of Occupy supporters marching from Washington to Atlanta, also met Councilman Dan Besse on the steps of City Hall on Saturday afternoon. Occupy Winston-Salem, like other Occupy movements across the country, is protesting corporate influence in politics and inequity among Americans.
“We have a separation of church and state,” said Kayla Cox, an Occupy member from Winston-Salem. “We need a separation of money and politics.”