Over the summer, white supremacist demonstrations appeared across downtown Nashville on more than one occasion, each time disrupting typical weekend events and garnering the attention of city leaders who condemned the neo-Nazi demonstration.
On Tuesday evening, Nashville Metro Council passed four new ordinances that members drafted in response to the extremist groups’ recent presence in the city, though the laws don’t call out white supremacists specifically. They place new restrictions on signage in public places, limit how and when flyers can be handed out and add exemptions to an existing policy prohibiting mask-wearing in a public place.
“Political tensions are high, and this legislation will help us discourage behavior that can spark violence,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said in an official statement announcing the legislation back in August . “When political violence prevents government functions or creates public safety issues, we must have the tools in our toolkit to respond effectively.”