WESTLAND, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The city attorney for the city of Westland said it has revised its policies on speaking at public meetings after its rules were questioned as unconstitutional by a free speech watch dog group.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonprofit watchdog group for free speech that sent a letter in February to 20 Michigan cities with what it claimed to be unconstitutional public comment policies.

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The Westland City Council prohibited “abusive or profane remarks,” “vulgar language,” “racial slurs,” and “personal attacks on Council members, the Administration, City Staff, other speakers, or members of the public,” even if the speech was not disruptive.

Westland made changes to its policy.

“The City Council did revise its policy after the FIRE letter,” Westland City Attorney Jim Fausone said in an email to Michigan News Source. “It now provides a suggestion that people act civilly and not use profane or abusive language. The old policy had a requirement/prohibition that could arguably have been seen as limiting speech.”

There are many other municipalities in Michigan with rules that FIRE believes unconstitutionally limit speech.

“Our outreach to Westland was part of a mass-mailing campaign in which we reached out to 20 Michigan cities with similarly unconstitutional public comment policies,” FIRE Program Counsel for Public Advocacy Brennen VanderVeen said in an email to Michigan News Source. “Our goal in that campaign was for at least some of those cities to change their policies. Six cities, including Westland, responded to us, and three have changed their policies so far. We are continuing to monitor these towns for enforcement of their unconstitutional rules.”

FIRE filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the city of Eastpointe after then-Mayor Monique Owens shouted down residents who criticized her during public comment.

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The city of Eastpointe agreed to concessions over the lawsuit in 2024. In the agreement, the city had to pay each of the four plaintiffs $17,910, pay attorneys’ fees of $83,000, pass a resolution apologizing to the plaintiffs and make Sept. 6 an annual “First Amendment Day” in Eastpointe.