A ban on booing adopted in Riverhead has become big news this week, with the story spreading far beyond the town's borders.
On Tuesday, the Riverhead Town board voted to approve new legislation that prohibits any demonstration that lawmakers would consider disruptive to meetings, specifically booing, but agreed clapping would still be permitted.
The first draft of the legislation banned both booing and clapping.
But, after Dominque Mendez, president of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition, protested that the proposed law "goes far to restrict what's free expression and free speech," the board agreed to ban only booing, not clapping.
What do you think about the booing ban? Do you think it's a good way to impose order at Town Hall -- or do you consider the measure a violation of First Amendment rights and the right to free expression? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
