PLATTSBURGH — A Clinton County constituent was once again denied a chance to speak at Wednesday’s legislature meeting, raising concerns about limitations on free speech.
“I’d be hard pressed to believe that those legislators want to go down that route,” Legislator Bobby Hall (D-Area 10, City of Plattsburgh) said Friday.
“When you start telling people they can’t talk, there’s something wrong.”
Jennifer Jewett, a long-time advocate for a dog tether law county-wide, which would ban tying dogs outside 24/7, has not been allowed to talk about the issue — or anything else — at the last few meetings.
Legislature Chairman Mark Henry (R-Area 3, Chazy) previously explained they have heard her speak on the dog tether law topic roughly 40 times and there is nothing new to add to the matter.
Henry said the decision to not allow Jewett speaking time on the subject was not just his but the entire legislature’s.
“The legislature has asked me to limit the speaking they (Jewett and her group) have. That group has spoken before the legislature and the committees almost 40 times,” Henry said after the meeting concluded.
“The legislature is very familiar with their position. There is no new information that has been brought forth that hasn’t already been thoroughly discussed, publicly discussed, either in the Public Safety Committee or in the legislature itself, and then emails and phone calls and all of those other things. So the legislature feels that it has been very well versed in the issue of the dog tether law.”
Until there is something new to add, or there is an item on the agenda related to the law, they will not be granted the “privilege of the floor,” he added.
Hall, a supporter of Jewett’s proposed law, did not agree with not allowing her to speak on it but he understands why his fellow legislators are tired of hearing about it.
However, in attendance again Wednesday, Jewett, a resident of Champlain, was not allowed to speak on any topic after making it known she would not speak about the dog tether law.
“We have nothing on the agenda for you tonight at all,” Henry said to Jewett after she asked to speak.
“Once again, I wasn’t planning to speak on the tether law,” she said in response.
“You will not be recognized. You will not be recognized,” Henry emphasized before closing the public comment period.
This exchange, and a similar one that occurred between the two at the legislature’s meeting March 26, contrasted with what Henry said after the meeting.
“(If she says) I’d like to speak about the sewer line, or taxes are too high, yeah, absolutely,” she can speak, Henry had said.
But, that’s not what happened and Hall said he made it known to Henry he did not support these actions against Jewett or anyone else.
“I am not in favor of anybody being told they cannot speak … I can understand if somebody wants to stop her from speaking about the tether law, she should be told — and she was — that she cannot talk about that anymore and that it’s a dead issue. That’s fine. But, I’m not in favor of letting people not speak about anything else,” Hall said.
“She should have the right to be heard when she wants to talk about something else, and if she tries to talk about the tether law then cut her off, but if she wants to talk about something else, she should have the right. Freedom of speech, to me, is very important. That’s one of the only privileges we have and if she can’t speak her mind, that’s not right,” he continued.
“I don’t care if it’s Jennifer or who it is, they should have the right to speak … We represent them.”
Jewett has been trying to get the law passed since early last year, showing up to every legislature meeting since then urging her elected officials to do so.
She was inspired to pursue this law after learning that two dogs in Mooers had been living most of their lives tied out on chains with no consequences to the owner.
Since her advocacy began, one of the dogs she hoped to help, a husky, has since died, according to Clinton County Sheriff Department records.
Legislator Francis Peryea (R-Area 2, Altona), an opponent to a county-wide tether law, said he 100% supported Henry not allowing Jewett to speak on it anymore. He said he didn’t hear her say she wanted to speak on something else, though.
Asked if he would support Jewett being able to voice her concerns on other topics, he said “We haven’t really had that conversation, so I’m not really gonna speak on that.”
“That hasn’t been discussed. That’s a relatively new situation,” he said.
“I mean, if he gives other people two minutes (to speak), I guess, but we’re not gonna sit there and listen to her criticize us either. If that’s what she plans to do is run us down and criticize us, that’s not gonna fly.”
In a statement Friday, Jewett gave a warning to other constituents who may have an issue to bring to the legislature in the future.
“Don’t be confused, this is about simply stopping 24/7 dog tethering and the neglect that goes with it. Mark Henry has done everything he can from day one to make supporters of this law go away, instead of addressing the issue and helping fix the problem. Now just as we have a ton of support, he shuts down all discussion on our topic because all other methods to make us go away have been unsuccessful. Mark Henry simply doesn’t want to be bothered anymore,” she said.
“According to the committee on open government, if Mark Henry opens the floor allowing public comment, he must treat everyone equally. He cannot discriminate. I have tried three times in three separate meetings to speak on an entirely unrelated topic, and I have been denied the right to speak in a public meeting. All while he opened the floor to others to speak. If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”
As it stands, Henry said there are no future plans for a law and it is not currently being discussed.
He said nobody on the legislature is against a law, per say, they just want the enforcement and legislation done and passed at the town level.
In Clinton County, there are 17 municipalities, meaning there could be 17 different laws eventually passed. The Town of Champlain has been the most recent to pass a tether law.
“The dog tether law stands where it did a year ago. The majority of the legislature feels that the town is the proper level of government for tether laws to be passed, that’s where it’s most effective, most efficient. That’s where the enforcement will happen,” Henry said.
“We believe that that is the best level of government for laws like these to be passed. It’s best for the dogs themselves, it’s for the dog owners and for the residents, the community as a whole.”