(A) Conduct of picketing; penalty. For purposes of this section, PICKETING means an organized effort to express publicly a point of view at a given place with signs, oral statements, or the like in a systematic manner, which involves walking or standing in the same area for a prolonged period of time. Peaceful picketing in the furtherance of a lawful purpose shall be allowed in the city, provided the picketing is done under the following conditions:
(1) Picketing may be conducted only on the sidewalks, on the grounds of a city-controlled park or plaza, or in other city-owned areas or rights-of-way normally used or reserved for pedestrian movement, and may not be conducted on the portion of a street used primarily for vehicular traffic.
(2) Such picketers must have applied for and been issued a permit as required under division (B) below.
(3) Such picketers may carry written or printed signs (which such term shall be interpreted to include flags), provided the signs do not interfere with the free use of the sidewalk or rights-of-way by other pedestrians. Such signs, with reasonable use, shall be deemed to comply if they are composed of paper, cardboard, poster board, cloth, vinyl, or similarly non-rigid material; do not exceed one-thirty-second inches in thickness; do not exceed 20 inches by 30 inches or 600 square inches in the case of signs composed of paper, cardboard, poster board, or similar material; and do not exceed four feet by six feet in the case of signs composed of cloth, vinyl, or a similar material. Signs exceeding these dimensions are presumed threats to safety.
(4) Such picketers on sidewalks or on right-of-way normally used or reserved for pedestrian movement must march or stand single file and not congregate so as to block any sidewalk, driveway, or business entrance. All laws pertaining to the orderly flow of pedestrians must be obeyed.
(5) (a) For public safety reasons, the following are prohibited in the immediate proximity of pickets, and due notice shall be included in every receipt of notice of intent to picket that these restrictions apply:
1. Open flames and combustible solids;
2. Sticks, poles, selfie sticks, or other similar elongated solid objects capable of inflicting bodily harm as a striking or stabbing object, excluding commercially available corrugated cardboard tubing as the supporting article for signs, flags, and the like;
3. Backpacks, satchels, bags, coolers, or similar personally carried containers exceeding six inches by eight inches by three inches, except when said container is completely clear and see through;
4. Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-520, the open care of any firearm;
5. Any mechanical or handmade contrivance that launches any projectile of solid, liquid, or gaseous composition, including aerosols/pressurized canisters;
6. Any stabbing, cutting, slicing, or striking blade, whether of metal or other solid composition;
7. Any striking object, such as a bat, stick, brass knuckles, martial arts weapons, implement handles and the like, which would inflict bodily injury;
8. Any facial mask, headgear, or cloth worn over any portion of the face which prevents facial identification of a person 14 years of age or older;
9. Any carried object that resembles or serves the purpose of a shield;
10. Any armor or defensive covering that resembles or serves the purpose of defensive body armor;
11. Carried signage exceeding the size restrictions set forth in S.C. Code Ann. § 36-142(a)(3); and
12. Bicycles, automobiles, and mopeds.
(b) This division (5) shall not apply to law enforcement officers while in the discharge of their duties.
(6) The organizer of a picket, or the person designated in the permit as the one who will carry the permit shall be responsible for posting conspicuous signage at the picketing location informing participants that open carry firearms are prohibited for the duration of the picket.
(7) Picketing done contrary to this section shall be unlawful. Police or city personnel may confiscate any of the items listed in the S.C. Code Ann. § 36-142(a)(5) if a picket participant refuses to remove the prohibited item from the picketing site, with the exception of firearms in accordance with S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-520. A firearm or ammunition may be seized or confiscated pursuant to lawful arrest.
(B) Picketing permit.
(1) No picket is required for picketing by a group of less than ten individuals on a sidewalk, or by a group of less than 25 individuals on the grounds of a city-controlled park or plaza, or in other city-owned areas or rights-of-way normally used or reserved for pedestrian movement.
(2) A permit application must be submitted to the City Administrator or his or her designee in a form approved by the Administration Department and in accordance with the time limits and guidelines established in Appendix A. The Administration Department shall make the picketing permit application form available online, and at multiple locations throughout the city, including City Hall and the municipal complex. The permit application shall include the following information:
(a) The name, address, and contact telephone number of the organizer of the picket;
(b) The name, address, and contact telephone number of the person who will carry the permit if different from the organizer;
(c) The specific location where the picket is to take place;
(d) The date and time the picket will begin and end; and
(e) The anticipated number of participants and the basis on which this estimate is made.
(3) Upon application in accordance with this division (B), the City Administrator or his or her designee shall immediately issue a permit at no charge. If an application is submitted for the same date, time, and location as an application for which a permit has already been issued, a permit shall be issued for a location as close as reasonably possible to the location set forth in the application; permits issued are subject to amendment in order to conform with this provision. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a picketing permit shall not be issued for the two hours preceding or the two hours following the time period for which picketing permit has been issued for the same date and location; permits issued are subject to amendment in order to conform with this provision. The permit shall contain all information stated in the application. The organizer of a picket, or the person designated in the application as the one who will carry the permit, shall be responsible for maintaining the permit and shall present it when so requested by a law enforcement officer or other city official. A person or entity hosting a picket under this section must post signs at the picket indicating that open carrying of firearms is not allowed at the picket. The city reserves the right to post additional signs indicating that open carrying of firearms is prohibited at the picket.
(4) Spontaneous pickets which are occasioned by news or affairs coming into public knowledge less than 48 hours prior to such picket may be conducted in front of City Hall and the organizer(s) first will be deemed to have applied for a picketing permit under this division, and a permit shall be issued at no charge as soon as possible. In the event the designated area cannot safely accommodate the number of persons assembled, a shift commander or supervisor of the Police Department of the city shall direct the picketers to a suitable alternate location. For the avoidance of doubt, the requirement to pose signs as set forth in Appendix A applies to spontaneous pickets.
(C) Interference with pickets. It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere physically with such pickets in the use of the sidewalk or address profane, indecent, abusive, or threatening language to or at such pickets or others to breach the peace.
(D) Crowd dispersal. A shift commander or supervisor of the police department of the city may, in the event of the assemblage of persons in such numbers as to tend to intimidate picketers pursuing their lawful objective through numbers alone or through use of inflammatory words or threatening gestures that are ordinarily used to intimidate people, direct the dispersal of persons so assembled, and any police officer may arrest any person who fails to leave the place of assemblage when so directed by the police.
(E) Restrictions. Persons engaging in picketing activity cannot do so inside an area designated as an event area for which a permit has been granted to another individual or group under this chapter, if the picketing behavior has the effect of interfering with, hampering, hindering, or getting in the way of those participating in the permitted event in accordance with its purposes or with the general public making use of the space for its ordinary and customary purposes. Whenever any police officer or municipal employee charged with monitoring or supervising event activity determines the picketing behavior is interfering with, hampering, hindering, or getting the way of others, as provided in this section, then the officer or employee may direct the picketers to relocate to other public space in reasonable proximity where such conduct can continue, if lawful, so long as the picketing does not interfere with, hamper, hinder, or get in the way of persons participating in the event for its intended purposes or of members of the general public making use of the public space for its ordinary and customary purposes.
(Ord. 2021-033, passed 12-14-2021)