St. Joseph County and Osceola, Ind., officials may try to ban cross burnings or other intimidating actions in response to a Ku Klux Klan group's plans to burn a cross outside the town hall, according to an Associated Press report.
Both the Osceola Town Council and St. Joseph County Council will discuss proposed ordinances this week.
This is in reaction to Richard Loy, the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Church of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, who announced plans to lead a march from his home to the town hall and burn a cross on Aug. 2, according to the report.
Loy told the Associated Press Saturday that his march to the town about 12 miles east of South Bend will not include a cross burning.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that states can punish Ku Klux Klan members and others who burn crosses, finding that a burning cross represents such an instrument of racial terror that it overshadows free speech considerations, according to an April 8 Associated Press report.
Basically, St. Joseph County and Osceola officials can legally instate ordinances to punish those who burn crosses, but can't restrict much else -- unless space is an issue.
The Klan plans to march to the town hall parking lot, but there's a catch.
''Three other people have asked to use the town hall parking lot that same day,'' Greg Burris, Osceola town council president, said.
Those groups are planning a car wash, a bake sale and another function, Burris said. If Loy tries to occupy the property anyway, Burris said police will likely intervene.
Loy said that if town or county officials try to stop him, they will violate his constitutional rights and he will sue them.
How can a first-come, first-served situation -- in which three other groups reserved space before the Klan -- infringe on the rights of the Klan?
The Klan can march, but it can't burn a cross, and it can't occupy public meeting space that it was not granted.
Popular or not, ordinances designed to prevent cross burnings must not prevent the Klan from gathering peacefully. But if space is an issue, Loy may be out of luck.
When the Supreme Court made its ruling in April, it was a call to consider how far we should restrict free expression, regardless of popularity.
We should be mindful of each case in which free expression is questioned.
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