Right to protest outside a home? - Only decency says that we shouldn’t

Protesting outside a politician’s home has no place in a democracy — so said many of the social media commentators who condemned the groups who brought their banners to Health Minister Simon Harris’s house at the weekend.

They’re wrong. Freedom to protest is a cornerstone of democracy and that doesn’t just mean neat, confined, quiet, unobtrusive, instantly forgettable protest. Sometimes, it means the sprawling, noisy, disruptive, and reflection-provoking kind. It’s not an absolute right, of course. Large-scale protest that upsets many, as well as small gatherings that harass, intimidate, or distress a single target can both fall foul of public order laws. But just as there is no absolute right when it comes to protest, there should be a reluctance to declare an absolute wrong about where it can take place.