For just about two hundred years -- or nearly the entire
history of this country -- Lafayette Park was open and free. Suddenly,
in 1995, the Secret Service (SS) took the revolutionary step of
closing Pennsylvania Avenue and barricading Lafayette Park. Acting
without notice, in the stealth of night, on May 20, 1995 S.S.
agents, transformed the nation's symbol of free and open government
into a police state showcase.
Presently, on January 27 and 28, 1999, the Department of
Interior will conduct a "public forum" on the Comprehensive
Design Plan for the White House and Draft Environmental Impact
Statement. We believe that decisions of such import to democracy
should merit, if not a constitutional convention, at least widespread
public debate. Sadly, there has been scant public opposition
to the SS's plans.
Shortly after the SS staged their coup, then-U.S. Senator
Rod Grams stood on Pennsylvania Avenue and noted, "There
are barricades to the left of us, barricades to the right of us,
and yet directly in the middle sits what is supposed to be one
of this nation's most enduring symbols of freedom. Surrounded
by concrete, and ringed by armed guards, dogs, and patrol vehicles,
a roadway that once resonated with freedom now reeks of fear."
At first Senator Grams' opinion was bipartisan, perhaps,
with the exception of the SS, unanimous. Initially President Clinton
was joined by Representative Elenor Holmes Norton (D-DC) any many
others. As then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said on "Meet
the Press." "Keep it open. I mean there are limited
risks in a free society."
Unfortunately, as the years have passed official interest
has waned. To our knowledge the only "meaningful" legal
action was a complaint
filed by the people open to the greatest security threats, the
longterm vigilers across the street from the White House.
Please try to attend the DoI's "public forum"
on January 27 and 28, 1999,