An Alabama Senate committee approved a bill on Wednesday that restricts when, where and how a group can picket and protest.
Senate Bill 247, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, prohibits protesters from using noise amplifiers, being too close to the residence of the subject of the protest 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise, and from blocking roads for the protest.
Orr filed similar legislation in the previous two legislative sessions. In 2023, the bill passed the Senate but did not receive a vote in the House. In 2024, it was indefinitely postponed in a Senate committee.
“The first version was filed in response to the Justice (Brett) Kavanaugh hearings where people went to his house and were demonstrating outside at all hours of the night,” Orr said. “I thought how intimidating would that be whether you’re an elected person or unelected, it doesn’t matter.”
The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee heard from one critic of the legislation during a public hearing. Camille Bennett, executive director of Project Say Something, an advocacy group for change focusing on Black history and anti-racism training, said the legislation was too vague and unconstitutional.