Activists push city to be first in U.S. to prohibit use of drones

Buffalo News

The City of Buffalo has a chance to be the first in the country to ban Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, also known as drones.

A group of activists and community leaders came to City Hall on Tuesday to have their say in front of the Common Council Legislation Committee.

"You guys have an opportunity to make Buffalo the first drone-free city in the United States, and I hope you take that seriously," John Washington of Occupy Buffalo told lawmakers.

While the city has not been approached by the federal government or any other entity about purchasing drones, about 20 people showed up for Tuesday's public hearing to encourage lawmakers to support a proactive ban.

"Drone manufacturers will push this hard on you and other elected officials, They will say that one of the reasons [for drones] is fighting crime," said Charles Bowman of the Western New York Peace Center.

"We don't need drones in the City of Buffalo. We don't need further militarization of our police department," he added.

Earlier this month, Occupy Buffalo and the WNY Peace Center proposed legislation to the Council prohibiting the use and purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles in Buffalo, arguing that they violate constitutional rights and pose imminent danger to the public.

Excerpts from the proposal state that "drones present an unreasonable and unacceptable threat to public safety in the air and to persons and property on the ground ... due to limitations in drone vision, capability to avoid other aircraft and adequate control."

Another part of the proposed legislation reads "armed drones and surveillance drones present an unreasonable and unacceptable threat to the rights of individual privacy, freedom of association and assembly, equal protection and judicial due process ..."

Victoria Ross of the Peace Education Project noted that the drones in Buffalo most likely would be used primarily for surveillance, "which means warrants won't be needed."

The proposed legislation submitted to the Common Council asks that drones not be purchased, leased, borrowed, tested or used by any agency of the City of Buffalo.

The hearing was a chance for concerned citizens to voice their opinions on the matter, and the committee took no action.

"I will be thrilled if Buffalo will be the first in the nation to go down on record we are against drones," said Lesley Haynes, a social activist and retired social worker, during the hearing.

"I think it would be a really nice thing for Buffalo," Haynes said. "I would be proud to know Buffalo was leading this."

Seattle Council Supports Occupy Movement's Request to Look at Its Investments

Seattle Times
Lynn Thompson

Dorley Rainey after being pepper sprayed in Seattle

The Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution in support of Occupy Seattle that calls on the city to examine its banking and investment practices, home-foreclosure patterns and the financing of local elections.

The resolution was a grab bag of proposals meant to provide a local response to the concentration of wealth and abuses in the financial sector that the Occupy Wall Street protest and its regional offspring have called attention to in encampments and rallies around the country this fall.

"Working together, we can fix our broken economy and fix our broken social contract," said Councilmember Nick Licata, who sponsored the legislation. He said that, at the very least, the city can make sure public funds are reinvested in the community.

Other cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Buffalo, have passed resolutions in support of the Occupy protests.

The Seattle resolution did not call for a city income tax, as an earlier draft had proposed, but did call on the state Legislature to work toward a more equitable tax structure and to fully fund public education as a way to continue to provide economic opportunity. It also called on Congress to support job creation by investing in the country's infrastructure, tightening banking regulations and allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire.

It's not clear how much practical effect the resolution will have. The city's finance director said very little of the city's money is in commercial banks. The city does do business with Wells Fargo, but the bank is essentially a pass-through as the city moves money into long-term assets or pays bills, said Glen Lee, finance director.

The city does give tax breaks to a range of businesses, from church-sponsored day-care centers and nonprofit adult family homes to banks with international facilities that pay about one-third less than other businesses, Lee said.

"I look forward to examining these issues with the council," he said.

About 60 people from the Occupy Seattle protests attended the City Council hearing and gave a standing ovation to Licata when he spoke in favor of the resolution. The protesters spoke of their personal experience, from financial hardship and homelessness to unemployment and heavy student loans.

One likened the nation's current economic outlook to joining a game of Monopoly that's already in progress.

"All the properties are already owned and wherever you land, you're screwed," said Michael Dare, who organizes the Occupy encampment at City Hall Plaza.

The council resolution, which was joined by Mayor Mike McGinn, also reflected some of the ongoing tension within the city as officials try to honor the rights of protesters to speak out and peacefully assemble as well as the work of the Seattle Police Department, which must protect public safety.

The resolution notes both the First Amendment right of activists and "the important responsibility" of the police to protect those rights "while, at the same time, appropriately enforcing City laws and regulations."