[Imc-dnc-discuss] NLG on Press Passes

[Svea Eppler]

     Hello IMCsters!

     I received our call back from Ursula of the Massachusetts National Lawyer's Guild today. She relayed the advice of a group of 7 NLG lawyers who consulted while at a "retreat" about our press pass questions.

     She says that they were "very surprised" that we were considering providing the police with an example of our press badge. They were in complete agreement that providing the police with our internal information will not accomplish anything in the way of "protection". Her main point was as follows:

     The police do not need the information, and the Boston police are just one of several security forces that will be working at and around the Convention. Providing one agency with our information will not gaurantee any consideration for our "legitimacy" with any of the other agencies (including the Feds, National Guard, etc). Nor will it gaurantee that we are considered "legitimate" from the agency that we do submit our information to.

     Also, the National Lawyer's Guild has a similar system in place for registering their "Legal Observers" for events like this. The NLG does not provide police with information about their legal observers, their internal security, or their identification procedures to security authorities for the same reasons that we should not. It's internal information that is not needed for their security duties at the DNC, and offering their info to the police does not provide any protection from those individuals who represent the NLG at protests.

     That's their advice. Very straightforward.

     Cheers.

     Svea.

 

		
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