Augusta protestors told to move

The planned protests against Augusta’s all-male membership policy look set to take place away from the main gates of the course.

Martha Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women’s Organisations, plans a high-profile protest on Saturday, although it has been toned down in the wake of the war in Iraq.

However, the NCWO and Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have been told they cannot protest directly outside the gates to Augusta National and must instead use a 5.1 acre site around half a mile away.

The American Civil Liberties Union questioned whether such a ’protest ordinance’ was constitutional, and also challenged the authority of Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength to order the protesters to use the special site on Washington Road.

But US District Court chief judge Dudley H Bowen Jr ruled yesterday that the city’s protest ordinance is constitutional, and late last night also sided with Sheriff Strength’s safety concerns.

Judge Bowen called the area outside Augusta National “profoundly congested” during Masters week and wrote that the introduction of protesters would present “a realistic, plausible, even probable potential for some accidental injury”.

The ACLU, on behalf of the two civil rights groups, had claimed Sheriff Strength has too much discretion over when and where public demonstrations can take place in Augusta.

Sheriff Strength turned down protest permit applications from several groups after they wanted to place demonstrators at several spots along Washington Road, including right outside the club’s gates at Magnolia Lane, across the street at Magnolia Drive and down the street on Berkmans Road.

ACLU attorneys said the sites protesters requested may not be ideal from a public safety standpoint, but the first amendment compels the city to grant their request.

However the judge added that “the alternative site is nonetheless a good solution. In fact it is the only such alternative.”

After hearing the initial ruling on Monday, Burk said she was disappointed but “still hopeful of improving our position in Augusta by Thursday.”

The ACLU are yet to decide to appeal and demonstrators could choose to protest in groups of four or fewer, exempting them from protest restrictions.

The protests and the war in Iraq meanwhile have led to an increase in security at the first major of the year.

Spectators walking the course can expect to see a uniformed deputy on every tee and green as the security force is expanded for the second year in a row.

“We started beefing up last year after September 11, and this year we did a little more in case they try to get on the course and protest,” said Colonel Gary Powell, of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. “You’ll see a lot more uniformed visibility on the course.”

Colonel Powell said officers will use two bomb-sniffing dogs on a daily basis to check Augusta National buildings. A bomb expert will be available, and military police from Fort Gillem in Atlanta are on call in the event of trouble.