More than 100 photographers and supporters used Independence Day to protest what they called the recent infringement on the freedom of a local shutterbug to take pictures at a Silver Spring development built with taxpayer help.
Chip Py, whose recent run-in with private security guards was the focus of the event, said the rally was aimed at confirming the First Amendment rights of photographers and others on property developed by public-private partnerships.
The conflict began June 12, when Py says a security guard told him he wasn’t allowed to take photos on the redeveloped Ellsworth Drive property. Py objected, citing the use of more than $100 million in taxpayer dollars to help redevelop the area and its status as a public-private partnership. Management ultimately allowed him to take the photos, but Py said he was concerned that he was stopped in the first place.
“Our rights to take photos in a public place don’t come from any company,” Py said. “They come from the Constitution.”
Py wrote a letter to Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and County Council members stating his concerns. He posted a copy of his letter on the photo Web site Flickr on June 14, and blogs and media have written at length about his situation.
“I think the catalyst is: If you can’t take pictures, what else can’t you do in this property that was funded by tax dollars?” Py said.
The developer, PFA Silver Spring LLC, says its policy never banned photographers from taking pictures; it just wanted people to check with management first. The developer recently changed its public stance.
“Basically, it allows respectful photography, and you don’t have to check in anymore,” PFA spokesman I.J. Hudson said. He said PFA didn’t want patrons feeling harassed or people creating a disturbance, so it would like photographers to get permission from individuals before taking their photo.
Council Member Marc Elrich said the fact that the developer is relaxing its rules misses the point of the First Amendment issues at stake.
“The crux of this disagreement as far as I can tell is the photographers and others feel the developers can’t give them something they have a right to or take it away,” Elrich said. “They’re not acknowledging it’s a right, they’re just saying they’ll let them do it.”
State Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who represents Silver Spring, spoke at the rally and said afterward it was a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July.
“This is a nation that was founded on freedom of expression, and that is inviolable in public spaces, regardless of whatever other rights are granted to private developers,” Raskin said.
Py said event planners selected July 4 for the rally to encourage people to think about the meaning of Independence Day.
“All over the world, we’re fighting for supposed freedoms, but in our streets and our towns, we’re losing them one by one,” Py said. “More people are contacting me because of their concerns about civil liberties than their concerns about photographers’ access.”
