Dear Editor:
On the Seventh day of each month, members of a group called Peace, Love, and Equality, along with members from our organization, Long Beach Area Peace Network, hold signs for bringing the troops home, equal rights for all and respect for all living things. We are peaceful and have a message. We picked the corner of Seventh Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach because there is a lot of traffic.
Our spot happens to be near the Motel 6. On Feb. 7 at 5 p.m., the owner of this Motel 6 at PCH and Seventh had the leader of our group charged for making a noise disturbance and keeping the people awake. The Long Beach Police Department complied with her request. Now Karie Chupp has been charged with “maliciously and willfully disturbing another person by loud and unreasonable noise.” (California Penal Code Section 415.) She is facing a $400 fine and a possible jail sentence of up to 90 days for exercising her right of free speech. Her crime was committed on the busiest corner in Long Beach at rush hour between 4 to 6 p.m. She played music on a boom box barely audible above the din of traffic.
This is an issue of free speech. Her court appearance is May 9 in Long Beach. It is ironic that the Westboro Church can picket the funerals of our deceased soldiers with hate speech, but people who want Peace, Love, and Equality are arrested for speaking out.
We are asking that this charge be dropped and that, if necessary, we will organize a boycott of all Motel 6s in Long Beach.
Thank you,
Marshall Blesofsky for the
Long Beach Area Peace Network