GIG HARBOR, Wash. — One Pierce County town has had enough of hate speech. The Gig Harbor City Council has banned people from attending its meetings via Zoom after seeing a surge in hate speech at public meetings in the county.
Leaders inside Gig Harbor’s city hall said they are fed up with hearing about people jumping into public meetings on their computers to spew hate speech. That hasn't happened in Gig Harbor yet, but city officials said they don't want to change it.
"Horrifying, they're just horrifying," said Mary Barber, the Gig Harbor city councilmember who spearheaded a motion last week to no longer allow virtual public commenting during meetings. "I can use a fake name, I can use a fake location and no one's going to know who I really was,” said Barber. “So these bad actors are causing havoc all over the country."
The council voted 5-1 in favor of the ban. They're only allowing in-person or written comment during meetings until further notice. The only vote against it was from city Councilmember Jeni Woock.
"You never want to see hate speech,” said Woock. “Just for me, I needed to put the First Amendment first and the public rights for free speech first."
KING 5 took to the streets of Gig Harbor to find out what people thought of this new policy.
"It would make sense to try it and see how it goes,” said Glenn Olsen. “But again, if people want to communicate that badly, there's other ways they communicate and hopefully in a more positive manner that would be good."
City council members said there are other ways people can voice their opinions. People can still email or call city council members or comment in person during the meetings.
"We hear you, your voice is vital to how we run this city and how we make our decisions, so we want to hear your voice,” said Woock.
"We welcome, welcome, welcome public comment and we welcome participation in our city government," said Barber.
Katrina Knutson, the city administrator with Gig Harbor, emailed KING 5 this statement:
“The COVID-19 pandemic launched local government into the e-meeting space, which has been a great tool in facilitating civic engagement for individuals who cannot attend in person. Remote participation is an important mechanism the city now relies on and intends to utilize into the future.
The city understands that many cities across the state have recently dealt with significant hate speech at city council meetings. City staff are analyzing all options to ensure meetings are constitutionally compliant and a safe place for all residents. We will present options to the city council in January and expect a resolution by February.
The City of Gig Harbor is a welcoming city and encourages participation from residents regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc. To that end, staff has prepared a draft welcoming policy that will be presented for city council adoption at their January 8th meeting.”