CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Protestors are moving ahead with plans to march and rally at the Democratic National Convention in September.
People from across the country spent the last two days in Charlotte to discuss plans on how to best peacefully protest and organize activities during the DNC. Those in attendance include folks from labor groups, occupy groups and people working on social, economic and racial justice issues. Together they make up the "Coalition to Protest at the DNC."
Elena Everett with Occupy Durham says information on where, when and how to apply for a permit so they can lawfully take part in protests is hard to come by. "They are treating the DNC very differently..bending over backwards for it..we demand that we be treated the same way."
Everett says the group has been given the "run around" by the city. "For seven months we've been told there will be a new process coming out," Everett said.
City leaders said in the past the permit process will be a like a lottery - allowing chosen groups time at a "speakers platform." Everette has heard the application process might not start until July.
"That is insufficient...We [should] be given a reasonable timeframe ..And be given a march route and permits in the time place and manner of our choosing within the sight and sound of the DNC," Everett said.
Similar concerns are coming from protestors in Tampa - the sight of the Republican National Convention in August.
"We have the right to protest within sight and sound of the convention," one man said during a rally earlier this week.
Folks in Tampa say they applied for protest permits in January and haven't heard a word from the city. "We will march with or without a permit," another man said.
"If we don't have permits..we are going to come out anyway - how the city and police react to that - that will be up to them," Everett said.
The Charlotte group says they have people working to put pressure on the city. City leaders did not respond to our emails Saturday about a permit timeline.
In comparison, a permit process for the Denver DNC in August 2008 began in March. There, the city hosted more than 1,200 "permitted" events including concerts, parades, protests and other special activities in addition to the actual Convention.
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