D.C. residents and civil libertarians split on the question of whether the right to free speech should be trumped by a neighborhood’s desire for quiet as the D.C. Council weighed a bill to place a decibel level on noncommercial speech Monday.
Council Member Tommy Wells, D-Ward 6, introduced the bill earlier this year at the behest of H Street NE neighbors who have been tussling with a group of street preachers who call themselves the Black Hebrew Israelites. The group uses an amplifier for several hours most Saturdays, much to the ire of many residents.
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If passed, the bill would set a 70-decibel level on noncommercial speech within a “reasonable person standard,” meaning violations would take into account the duration and direction of the noise. There are currently no laws banning noncommercial speech in the city.
The bill has not been without controversy.
Angry H Street neighbors, who formed a group called Quest for Quiet, demonstrated in Adams Morgan with bullhorns and amplifiers on a Sunday in June to raise awareness of the issue.
Johnny Barnes, executive director of the D.C. chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, opposed the bill, saying the group feared it would have a chilling effect on free speech.
But Quest For Quiet organizer David Klavitter said the group has “run out of options” for dealing with the preachers. Anwar Saleem, of the nonprofit group H Street Main Street, said businesses have been affected by the group because customers feel “intimidated.”
