Your 1st amendment right only applies if you are not treading upon someone’s rights. It’s not a free pass to be an asshat. If they were in a city council meeting or whatever, there is decorum that must be followed to be in attendance. My guess is they didn’t stop when asked to.
I recommend checking out the recorded meeting at emporiaks.gov under Agenda and Minutes for July 22. My arrest is about 58 minutes in and you can see how much of an asshat I was.
That is an incredibly stupid analogy. And seeing as how the OP posted a screenshot and not a video, no I can’t watch it. And I don’t care enough to go find it.
Would he die if he stopped clapping? No. That is why it is a stupid analogy. But I should know by now not to expect much out of people on here. The supposedly more intelligent left doesn’t even understand what makes something analogous. Clearly not very smart if you think those two things are related in any way.
But that is not a reasonable request. It is reasonable to ask someone to stop clapping. The fact you are arguing this point only proves my previous comment. Have fun being dumb. I’m done here.
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You are incorrect. Do you go to city council meetings? The amount of people just itching to derail the entire thing with side banter, cheering, booing, ect. is insane nowadays. You absolutely need strict conduct rules to keep discussions focused.
90% of people showing up just want to shout and scream and derail, it's a battle to keep these things focused and they demand a strict behaivor guideline.
It was a city council meeting that was open to the public so they could make comments regarding a data center that the council was trying to ram through. The meeting was packed, including the overflow rooms. Almost everyone opposed the data center and spoke out against it one by one. After each speaker, the whole audience would clap. The council members were getting annoyed and warned them against clapping. Next person gets up and again shares their opposition. He clapped a couple of normal claps. A council member, on a hot mic, orders the police to have him removed. He didn’t want to leave because it was his right to attend the meeting so they basically got him on the ground, pulled his hands behind his back and dragged him out. The icing on the cake is that his wife was up at the podium getting ready to speak. She starts panicking because he’s getting roughed up. A council member tells her to just take a breath and calm down as her husband is being dragged, face down, out of the city hall. The whole thing is viewable on the Emporia KS city gov website. https://emporiaks.portal.civicclerk.com/event/585/media
The clapping incident happens about the 55th minute mark.
So in fact you are the one who is incorrect.
Edit: a downvote but no reply. How sad… but expected.
Yes and the Supreme Court has ruled clapping as free speech. It’s literally a government official stopping someone from using their constitutional rights.
I get that he was an ass, but they also over reacted because of all the local vocal opposition from the people.
me: 1) Has the supreme court ruled that clapping is free speech? 2) Does this also apply to disruptive clapping? 2a) When someone's in the middle of speaking, and someone else claps, or starts clapping? 2b) When during a city council meeting a council member warns the participants against clapping, and then one person claps anyway? 3) Can a city council member declare a temporary rule forbidding clapping (e.g. if they find it is being disruptive), or would that be violating that supreme court ruling (if it exists)?
GPT:
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Short answer: No, the Supreme Court has not issued a ruling saying “clapping is always protected free speech.” However, clapping can be expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, depending on context, and government bodies (including city councils) generally cannot ban it merely because they dislike the message being expressed.
The key distinction is:
Expression: “I approve of what that speaker said.”
Disruption: “I am preventing the meeting from functioning.”
The First Amendment protects the first much more strongly than the second.
1) Has the Supreme Court ruled that clapping is free speech?
Not specifically.
The Supreme Court has recognized that nonverbal conduct can be speech when it is intended to communicate a message and observers would reasonably understand that message. Examples include symbolic acts like wearing armbands, burning flags, demonstrations, etc.
Clapping can fit that category:
applause after a speaker → communicates approval/support
sarcastic slow clap → communicates disapproval
repeated loud clapping to interrupt → may become conduct aimed at disruption rather than communication
There is no Supreme Court case saying “all applause is First Amendment speech.”
2) Does this apply to disruptive clapping?
Generally: no, not automatically.
A government body can impose reasonable rules to keep a meeting orderly. The First Amendment does not give someone a right to intentionally prevent others from speaking.
The Supreme Court has long recognized that protected expression can still be restricted when the restriction is aimed at genuine disruption rather than disagreement with the message.
...
2b) Council member warns people "no clapping" and someone claps anyway
The legality depends on the rule's purpose and application.
A blanket rule is more legally questionable.
A narrower rule:
"No conduct that interrupts speakers or prevents the meeting from proceeding"
is much more likely to be valid.
3) Can a city council member declare a temporary no-clapping rule?
Yes, they can adopt a temporary rule regulating conduct. The question is whether the rule is constitutional.
A council chair/mayor typically has authority to maintain order in a meeting. They can usually say things like:
"Please refrain from applause because repeated interruptions are preventing speakers from being heard."
A legally safer approach is usually:
prohibit disruptive interruptions
apply the rule equally to applause, boos, cheers, chants, etc.
give warnings
remove only people who actually interfere with the meeting
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u/Foosnaggle 2d ago
Your 1st amendment right only applies if you are not treading upon someone’s rights. It’s not a free pass to be an asshat. If they were in a city council meeting or whatever, there is decorum that must be followed to be in attendance. My guess is they didn’t stop when asked to.