Wednesday, September 25, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
City
snapshot
Commentary...
Madison, robocalls and the First Amendment
By Pete Shepherd
Columnist
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
" This Saturday, September
28, from 8 a.m. to noon, join
in the Fall Cleanup around
town and in the surrounding
forests, sponsored by Sisters
Park & Recreation District.
Participate as an individual,
group, business, or school.
Supplies and assignments will
be provided at SPRD at 8 a.m.
To register online visit
www.sistersrecreation.com;
register by phone at 541-549-
2091; or in person at 1750 W.
McKinney Butte Rd.
" The job opening for a
Senior Planner in the City9s
Community Development
Department has been posted
and will close October 7.
Contact Kerry Prosser, city
recorder, for more informa-
tion, 541-323-5213.
" The
Planning
Commission is continu-
ing to review the text of the
Development Code to find
outdated codes or language
that should be removed or
updated. At their meeting last
Thursday, they looked at rear
setback standards for acces-
sory dwelling units (ADUs),
mix of housing types required
in Master Plans in the mul-
tifamily residential zone,
as well as requirements for
stand-alone residential use in
the commercial district.
" Planning commission-
ers also reviewed proposed
changes required to the code
language in chapter 2.10 of
the Development Code deal-
ing with the Special Flood
Hazard Overlay. The pro-
posed amendments will go
to City Council and return to
the Planning Commission for
a formal public hearing. The
amendments must be adopted
in order for Sisters residents
living in the overlay area
to qualify for federal flood
insurance. Commissioners
discussed new rules issued by
the Federal Communications
Commission affecting land-
use processes and require-
ments for telecommunication
equipment.
Have a story
idea for
Robocalls 4 I detest
them. You probably do, too.
If James Madison had had a
cell phone when he was writ-
ing the First Amendment,
he9d have pulled his pow-
dered hair out in frustra-
tion over the frequent
interruptions.
These breaches of our
peace and quiet were still
two centuries in the future
when Madison9s quill pen
scratched out his first draft.
Robocallers have now joined
publishers, readers, debat-
ers, protesters, dissenters and
many others in claiming the
guarantee of free speech that
Madison helped graft to our
federal Constitution.
Legislators in Montana
and Wyoming recently ran
smack into Madison9s hand-
iwork when they tried to
stop the flood tide of robo-
calls. They banned robocalls
for commercial and politi-
cal purposes. Legislators in
both states allowed robo-
calls to continue for other
purposes, such as charitable
fundraising.
That didn9t sit well
with Victory Processing, a
political consulting firm that
used robocalls in both states.
The company dusted off
Madison9s First Amendment
and put it to work to brush
back Montana and Wyoming.
Victory Processing argued
that both laws were invalid
because they violated the
company9s free-speech
rights.
The First Amendment
prevents governments from
<abridging the freedom
of speech.= The company
wanted to speak through
robocalls. It had a strong
argument. The states, back
on their heels from the start
because of the plain language
of the First Amendment,
claimed their laws were
focused like lasers on avoid-
ing the problems unwanted
robocalls cause in the form
of overflowing answering
machines and busy phones.
It wasn9t enough. Federal
judges observed that chari-
table robocalls allowed by
Wyoming and Montana filled
answering machines and tied
up phones in the same way
as the commercial and politi-
cal calls that the states had
banned. What9s more, the
judges concluded that leg-
islators had cherry-picked
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Send an email to
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banned calls on the basis
of their content. Speakers
on some subjects could use
robocalls. Speakers on other
subjects couldn9t.
Interpretations of the First
Amendment have become
more and more complex in
the years since Madison put
his pen to paper. One prin-
ciple is crystal clear: it is
very difficult to justify laws
that muzzle peaceful speech
about one subject and yet
allow people to freely sing
out in the same way on a dif-
ferent subject.
If Madison were alive
today, he might suggest that
we look to California for
laws that do not violate the
First Amendment. California
skinned the First Amendment
cat by requiring a real person
to begin calls. The guts of the
message can be delivered by
a robot, but not until after a
real live person has made the
connection and establishes
that you want to hear the
recorded information.
Some historians think
Madison was too much cow-
boy and not enough horse 4
that is, great on theory, and
not so hot when it came to
putting theory into practice
by actually moving down the
trail. So it is in California.
Robocalls still happen. But
that is a problem of practi-
cal enforcement, not of con-
stitutional law and the First
Amendment.
Citizens for Community
and The Nugget have joined
forces to sponsor a forum on
the First Amendment. It will
be held on Thursday, October
24, at the Sisters Fire Hall.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m.
Madison is unlikely to attend,
but his spirit will certainly be
the loudest voice in the room.
Wa t c h T h e N u g g e t
for more about the First
Amendment event. Just don9t
wait for a robocall invitation!
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CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND FAITH
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Wednesday, October 9 • 6:45 p.m.
Sisters Movie House, 720 Desperado Ct.
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21
Tickets are available only at
Sisters Community Church offi ce
1300 W. McKenzie Hwy. | 541-549-1201
The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department and Cloverdale Fire District
are looking for volunteer fi refi ghters! We offer free training and a
chance to be on a team that will feel like family. You will learn leadership
skills and be rewarded by making a difference in your community!
Contact us at www.sistersfi re.com
or www.cloverdalefi re.com