Photo by philliefan99.

Let’s say you want to stage a protest in Meridian Hill Park. Since its part of the National Park system, judges with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia say that’s just fine and dandy — and you shouldn’t even need to obtain a permit to do so. The National Park Service and the Department of Justice, however, aren’t necessarily in agreement with that decision. They are considering filing an appeal, and have until September 27 to do so.

At the core of the case is to what extent the First Amendment’s protections extend to peaceful assembly on government property. The case which the Court of Appeals ruled on had its genesis in 2007, after a man who wanted to distribute leaflets about the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Mount Rushmore didn’t even receive an application for a permit when he asked for one. In its defense, the Park Service stated that regulations regarding permits are in place to maintain the “tranquility” of the parks.

Now, I’m far from a Constitutional lawyer, but there appears to be a million acres of gray area in this issue. While there certainly is something to be said for protecting the land which we all pay to maintain and keeping it usable for every American, there is room to argue that the National Park Service shouldn’t serve as the final arbiter of what is appropriate use and what is not. The permit system also serves several important purposes: it significantly eases the sharing of information between the Parks Service and the police department, for example; scrapping it entirely would certainly create more work for law enforcement agencies.

Another thing to consider — the District is in a unique situation with whatever eventually happens with this case. In addition to the Mall and a long list of monuments and historical places, the National Park Service has jurisdiction over several parks in the District, including the interior of several traffic circles. Anyone who wants to have, say, an anti-war rally in Sherman Circle or distribute literature in Farragut Square will be keeping an close eye on the government’s choice — as will the people who live near those parks.