John Matthews and Mollie Markowitz
WMAL.com
LEESBURG, VA — When unwelcome people leave hate literature in driveways, there’s not a whole lot law enforcement officers can do about it. The fliers themselves are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, so the most those who leave the leaflets can be charged with is littering.
That frustration led the Leesburg Town Council to speak out with one voice Tuesday evening and approve a resolution condemning hate.
“Our police are going to help keep our community safe…they’re going to identify when things happen… they’re going to alert us… they’re going to be responsive…but at the end of the day I think it’s us who keep our community safe,” Council Member Ron Campbell said.
The fliers have offended many people of different races and religions. Mayor Kelly Burk said the Council has a “responsibility to take a stand and be responsive.”
“This is a statement that we are making to the world…that Leesburg values the diversity within our community…it is our strength…it’s one of the things that makes Leesburg a great place to live,” Burk said.
Council Member Vanessa Maddox highlighted the importance of being “united” as a community and informing the next generation about these occurrences.
“I encourage you parents to have that discussion with your children…with your grandchildren…it is critically important that they understand history as we are being affected by it right now,” Maddox said.
The Council went on to explain why hateful words can be so dangerous.
“Escalation of fliers…of words…do we dare wait for the actions to follow and then feel bad that we didn’t respond as a community,” Campbell said, “No one needs to get hurt…words necessarily don’t hurt but they signal to us that people aren’t satisfied just delivering fliers.”
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