The Sept. 16 editorial “Hurting their cause” referenced demonstrators at the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who lives in Montgomery County. It is against the law in Montgomery County to picket at a person’s home for an issue that is about a person’s work. I wrote the anti-picketing bill back in the 1990s to protect neighborhoods, individuals and their families from protests that have to do with a decision or an activity that occurs at a workplace. People can march on the street that goes by the intended target, but amassing at the home of that target is illegal.
The county executive and the Montgomery County Police Department should enforce the law. In the debate over the bill, we received widespread support from across the county and the nation. Of particular note, the American Civil Liberties Union endorsed the bill, and a past Supreme Court decision backed such a law.
I agree that the demonstration at Justice Kavanaugh’s home was counterproductive to the cause that ShutDown DC and the others in attendance championed, even though I agree with the messages that the group displayed.
Gail Ewing, Potomac
The writer served on the Montgomery County Council from 1990 to 1998.
Hundreds of state-level abortion restrictions passed since 2010 have made access to abortion nearly impossible for millions of pregnant people. Though Roe v. Wade is still technically in place, a right without access is meaningless.
The decisions by Supreme Court justices have a direct impact on people’s lives, such as in the case of Texas Senate Bill 8, denying health care to millions of pregnant people in Texas. The consequences of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s actions will be dire, and having protesters outside his home for one night pales in comparison with what he and his fellow conservative justices have inflicted on pregnant people in this country.
Suggesting that protesters register their opposition at the ballot box is insulting in its naivete in this time of voter suppression and gerrymandering.
Molly Mallon, Arlington
