Rick,

Love the coverage of this issue, but, I hope people realize just because you mentioned my name in this article...i was not involved in this situation in any way, shape or form. I was not there on those occasions.

What a shame though that this whole Pandora's Box is being opened and forced to be dealt with when none of us (Zuma, Dowd, Hunt) ever should have even been at City Hall in the first place if they stuck to Federal law regarding 1st Amendment rights at Venice Beach.

Isn't it humble of Weiss to proclaim to "understand First Amendment issues better than anyone."

Maybe we should just let him make all the decisions for the rest of us idiots.

If anyone should wear masks or at least dunce caps it should be the city council members themselves. They should hide their faces in shame because of all of the time they waste of trivial stuff like this and useless resolutions. They should hide from the eyes of public scrutiny for allowing the city to become the crumbling crime infested anti business institution it now is. Sam Yorty and Tom Bradley must be crying in agony as they look down on what these miscreants have wrought.

Vanguardians is a community watchdog in Glendale. We have had Mayor's ask the police officer assigned to the council meetings throw people out for demanding their 1st Amendment Rights. This Tuesday the Coiuncil will be reviewing rules of conduct for them selves. At least one lawsuit against a Mayor. It seems as if elected officials forget their campaign promises immediately after the election. We need some stronger controls, more that the Brown Act, the political Reform Act and the Public Records Act provide.

Anonymous speech is protected freedom of speech. We have the right to speak anonymously. If wearing a mask is to protect your identity, it should be legal. Of course everyone who comes into city hall to speak has to show ID and fill out a speaker's card. No one can truly be anonymous if they want to speak.

First of all, nice to see everyone's comments on this issue. (You never know when everyone is gonna side with the other guy.)

One clarification regarding, "Of course everyone who comes into city hall to speak has to show ID."

NO, you do NOT have to show ID at the security check at city hall. if you say, "i am here for the city council meeting", you do not have to show any ID, at all." City Hall police will always ASK for your ID -- but if you simply say, "I'm going to the council meeting and don't have to show ID under the Brown Act" -- they will let you in. If not, ask for their supervisor. I AM 100% CERTAIN ON THIS ONE FROM EXPERIENCE!

These comments sound stacked by the friends of the people referenced in the article, I'm certain from the reference to "Sam Yorty" whose name is used for a blog they use. And Zuma Dogg may not have been involved in this mask incident, but he's worm a mask before in Council I'm pretty sure and raps his comments, has yelled and had to be told to tone down etc. The last comment shows how much he tries to push the envelope of what's permitted under the Brown Act, which he always quotes. Democracy and 1st Amendment rights presume some self-restraint among adults in a civil society.

When Matt Dowd was asked to remove his gigantic mask, he said "F-*k you, Eric Garcetti" then when Garcetti asked him to refrain from disrupting the meeting and foul language, told him to "shut up." This should be grounds for banning this person indefinitely -- but he was allowed to speak again that day and the next, although Dowd kept using comment time to harangue Garcetti and the Council, and to warn he was adding every (polite) comment Garcetti made to his lawsuit against the City/ us the taxpayers. This is outrageous behavior and misuse of our taxes which go not only to pay for the time of the Council and their staffs to listen to this, but also to people who produce and broadcast Public Station Ch. 35. Matt should be banned for these insults and misuse of public comment time, and Hunt and he from the KKK outfits, shirts with the "N" word which they both use, and masks -- they would never dare to go an NC meeting in Watts wearing and doing those things. Why should the City Council be forced to be verbally insulted and the chambers demeaned in a way no other body, corporate or private, would allow?

5:51pm (J. Kay) said, "And Zuma Dogg may not have been involved in THIS mask incident, but he's worm a mask before in Council I'm pretty sure and raps his comments, has yelled and had to be told to tone down etc.

Sorry Charlie...it was a Gene Simmons mask that I wore one time -- and it was allowed -- and the city attorney TOLD ME IN PERSON that it is allowed...

as long as your behavior is not disruptive. (And the simple act of wearing a mask -- as protected by law (even Jack Weiss says he feels masks ARE INDEED protected -- and they need a legal opinion as to whether they can even attempt a "mask ban".

SO BY WEARING A MASK, I DID NOT DO ANYTHING OUT OF LINE.

AND...AND...AND...

If I have ever rapped my comments....SO WHAT...

rapping is just words with a little inflection and tonality changes.

It's about the content...and singing and rapping IS protected speech as protected speech can be.

And regarding my loudness...

please show me the decible meter that shows whether someone is too loud or not.

I'm sorry my voice projects . YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SPEAK LOUD!!! SHOW ME ANY U.S. LAW THAT SAYS YOU CANNOT SPEAK LOUD. (I am not talking about YELLING, or SCREAMING...just simply speaking louder than a snobby-prissy City Council President like Eric Garcetti may be comfortable with...BUT AGAIN...NEVER OUTSIDE THE LAW.

Sorry you cannot control the world - and have it all tied-up in a nice little bow.

So you want to try and position what I have done -- along the lines of what others have done...

YOU ARE SO UNINFORMED -- AND BASICALLY IGNORANT AS TO THE SUBJECT MATTER YOU ARE POPPIN' OFF AT THE MOUTH ABOUT.

I mean, after all of your effort, you were 100% completely nothing but a clueless crybaby.

You know what is funny?

Look how the people complaining about some people making sure a shady (and in my opinion corrupt) governing body (City Council) does not push the lines back on all of us (as they are trying by their "ignoring" these laws before ZD/Hunt/Dowd started showing up (with knowledge of these U.S. protection laws) forcing them to obey these laws.

However, NO CONCERN AT ALL FOR THE THINGS CITY COUNCIL IS DOING THAT HAVE CAUSED THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO START INVESTIGATING CITY HALL...

THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAKERS HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE ABUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND TRUST?!?!

Gee, these people complaining couldn't work for City Hall, could they?

Beware the paid City Hall spin team.

Black musicians rap about killing and raping white people. Black ghettos are the worst in the world. Black countries are the poorest and most violent in the world. Black people are consistently outperformed by people of literally every other race on the planet in all fields, even sports. Even black athletes are using illegal drugs to get ahead.

Perhaps the black community has more important things to worry about than the use of the word "nigger". But I guess it's easier to whine and stick a grubby paw out in expectation of more handouts and apologies.

It's wearing thin.

The comments by "niggermaniac" and "tired" are examples of why some things need to be banned -- these types don't even use the N word with irony. And zuma dogg's hostile reply to the previous poster reflects the tone they use at City Hall.

Most people don't watch the replays so don't have the sense of what kinds of people are wearing these masks and using the N word.

Besides telling Council President Garcetti to "F off!" when asked to remove his mask (a large gas mask like a terrorist would use, so there's a public safety aspect to this, as well), then to "shut up!", Dowd later in the same meeting attempted to speak with the mask on an agendized item involved a dog park -- at a time where there were 3 precious minutes left for ALL remaining speakers, some of whom were passionate about the idea, neighbors suffering from the influx of dogs, etc. Although Dowd doesn't live near there or even have a dog, it's an e.g. of how he and some like him feel the need to take up time on EVERY issue.

Then Mike Hunt, the one in the KKK outfit and wearing "N" word on his t-shirts most of the time, used public comment time to "call out" Councilman Zine, "any time, anywhere, let's go at it." Whether he meant to debate or fight, it was HIGHLY inappropriate to make such a threat.

The pair keep provoking the Council with their threats of expanding their lawsuit against the city/ us. While having the nerve to say they represent "us" against the Council.

It's excessive liberalism that has allowed these people to go on this long. There should be a way to ban them altogether, at least to limit their time to one appearance a month.

At Linda:

It's good to know that self-appointed little Stalinists would be the arbiters of censorship. Thanks for deciding for the rest of us what is acceptable and what isn't. Just hope that your opinions aren't next on the chopping block--not that anyone would expect you to think that far ahead.

P.S. The word is "nigger"

"a large gas mask like a terrorist would use, so there's a public safety aspect to this, as well)" --

Don't you mean to say "a bandanna", as opposed to gas mask?

After all, it was a bandanna, not a gas mask.

"And zuma dogg's hostile reply to the previous poster reflects the tone they use at City Hall."

No. the reply reflects his, not their, tone that he used on this blog. He uses a different tone before council. If you dispute this, check the lacity.org. every single public comment made by zuma dogg in the past year is in the video archive.

it's a different tone than he uses for blogs.

that's because blogs are not public meetings and some feel there are different standards between blogs and public meetings.

but if you have an agenda, don't let facts or the truth stop you. (remember: anyone reading this can check the lacity.org website to see if you are factual or craptual.