A RESOLUTION affirming the rights of members of the press, legal observers, and medical personnel covering the protests against police brutality.
Thank you so much. The bill passes and the chair will sign it and ask the Burke. Please affix my signature to the legislation. Okay. Agenda item 15 Will the clerk please read agenda item 15 into the record? Agenda Item 15 Resolution 31961 affirming the rights of members of the press, legal observers and medical personnel covering the protests against police brutality. Thank you, Madam Burke. I will move to adopt resolution 31961. Is there a second second? It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution. Cameron will say that you are the prime sponsor of this resolution. I understand that you have a substitute version, so I'd like to suggest that before we make general comments that we get the substitute before us and then we can open up comments on the substitute version of resolution 31961. Thank you, Madam President. I move to amend Resolution 31961 by substituting version four for version to a second. Is there a second? Okay. It's been moved and seconded. Thank you. To substitute the resolution. Councilmember Mosquito, would you like us to just go ahead and take a vote on the substitute and then we can make we can make comments about the substitute version. Yes. And unless our colleagues is there, we did have a conversation about the contents of what is in the substitute version. Is there any need for additional description by the prime sponsor about what is in the substitute? A hearing nun will go ahead and ask the clerk to please call the roll on the adoption of the substitute. Peterson. So what? Yes. Strauss Yes. Herbold. Yes. Lewis. Yes. Morales. Yes. Let's get to. Okay. Yes. Yes. President Gonzalez? Yes. Eight in favor and unopposed. Thank you. The motion carries, the substitute is adopted, and version three of the resolution is before the council. I'm going to hand it back over to Councilmember Mosqueda to provide us with her remarks about the resolution as amended. And then I will open it up for general comment and debate, and we will then take a final rule on it, because we're just in you, Madam President. And just for the record, I believe we have version four in front of us, given the amendment that was circulated. Just want to double check that. That's what we voted on. Yes. Correct. That was an error on my my part of the script. I apologize. Okay. Thank you. Just wanted to make sure because President, I know it's been a long day, so I. I just thought I'd chime in there. Council calling the resolution in front of us affirms that the free press have the right to cover protests in our community. We know that during the last few months of the protests that we've seen here in Seattle and across the country, journalists have been subject to tactics that serve to intimidate or discourage reporters from performing their jobs, their responsibilities to observe these events and report them to the public. Local media outlets have said that the ruling that we have seen from the local court has and that would require them to turn over photos and videos taken at protests, threatens journalists role and prevents them from being seen as neutral. Observers could further erode trust between the public and the local media. This is a concern that we on city council want to make sure that we address head on. We want to make sure that those who are reporting in our streets are free from intimidation when covering protests. Increasingly, as we saw covered and crosscut recently, journalists have reason to fear for their physical safety. I'm quoting from Crosscut right now when they say that covering events like protests journalists have given I'm sorry, when covering events like protests, journalists have reason to fear for their physical safety. Forcing journalists to give their work to police would make them less welcome and increase those risks. Protests have constantly been some of the most dangerous on the site jobs for journalists working in the United States. And that has increased over the past three years, saying much of the violence comes sorry, much of the violence comes from police committing acts of violence against journalists, but sometimes protesters also lash out. This amendment addresses these issues no matter what our political opinions are. It's important that journalists have the ability to cover protests safely, to be safe, to feel safe, and that they're right to cover the protest is protected. And that's especially true when it comes to our police force. These are members who work for the city. We want to make sure that those who are covering these protests are not subject to the issues that we've seen repeatedly here in the city of Seattle, where reporters have been hit with flash bangs, experienced tear gas and have also been arrested in our city and incarcerated for hours as they awaited release. This resolution also applies to legal observers and medics who are at the protest to ensure that their legal rights and their safety is also protected at protests. These legal observers and medics have also been subject to gassing, flashbangs, arrests and intimidation. Reports from the past month include legal observers who have been targeted by the police and medics who've been trying to aid protesters being pepper sprayed and hit in the face and also experienced flash bangs hitting their bodies. It is embarrassing that the city of Seattle is highlighted in a more recent Amnesty International report. The report is entitled The World is Watching Mass Violations by US Police of Black Lives Matter protesters. It covers atrocities committed right here in Seattle in the chapter that is titled Human Rights Violations in the Policing of Protests. And Seattle is the first story that is highlighted in this report on page 22. And if I might briefly call your attention to one of the stories that has highlighted many of, you know, the story of Rihanna in that a 26 year old student who was struck in the chest by a flash grenade as she was kneeling down approximately 20 feet in front of the Seattle police line. She and her friends had been distributing food that evening at protests. She moved to the front to talk with police to de-escalate the tension. Shortly after talking with the officers, India was hit with a flash grenade. An intensive care nurse who is standing at the aid station behind the protesters said that she could smell the pepper spray and hear what that sounded like when the bombs exploded everywhere as people started rushing toward the aid station. She was treating four different people at the time, flushing chemical irritants from their eyes and trading welts on their arms and legs from being hit with flash grenades as she was treating them. Someone started screaming. She's been hit in the chest. She's been hit in the chest. Yet even as the medic and other medics scrambled to treat in there. Police continue to fired tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets at them and the aid station. Police then advanced on the aid station, firing flash grenades and pepper balls. Inside the station was clearly marked with identifying signs and red crosses and filled with tables stacked with water bottles and first aid supplies. This is why this resolution is important, both for members of the press or legal observers who we've seen on camera repeatedly being sprayed with pepper spray, and for medics who are trying to care for those who've experienced this type of trauma in our streets. We do have some positive news this morning, and that is why the resolution is amended in front of you to include a new Section five. The positive news is that according to a stipulated injunction from the Western District of Washington, SPV will be enjoined from using chemical irritants or projectiles against certain protesters. And the ruling says the federal judge in Oregon also stated that although the First Amendment does not enumerate special rights for observing government entities, the Supreme Court has recognized that newsgathering is an activity protected by the First Amendment without some protection for seeking out the news. Freedom of the press could be eviscerated. This is incredibly important that these decisions were made today. We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to not only separate members of the press from being seen as an arm of the government or an extension of the police, but that we're constantly thinking about how we protect them in the moments that they're covering folks expressing their First Amendment rights, in addition to making sure that legal observers and medics are protected as well. I appreciate all of your work, council colleagues, as we raise up this resolution and recognize that this follows on the heels of the unanimous votes that we've taken to prevent these types of weapons from being used in our streets. Obviously, much more work to be done. And I know this council's committed to that. But I think that this resolution is an important step in reaffirming our commitment to protecting members of the press, legal observers and medics during this time. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilmember Mosqueda, for those remarks. The resolution looks like we have a I think a couple more folks who are interested in speaking. So I'm going to head over to Councilmember Peterson first as one of the co-sponsors, and then we'll hear from Councilmember Herbold. Thank you. Thank you, Council President and thank you, Councilwoman Mosqueda, for introducing Resolution 31961 and for welcoming me as a co-sponsor. This resolution is very important to me because I'm passionate about the crucial role that a free press plays in a healthy democracy. We must always protect journalists, including those who cover protests and demonstrations so they can shine a light on the truth by providing accurate and independent reports. Social media posts and government issued reports are not a substitute for professional journalists. As a highly respected journalist, Walter Cronkite said, freedom of the press is not just important to democracy. It is democracy. Thank you. Thank you. Peterson comes from rehearsal. Thank you. I want to thank Councilman Muscat for bringing this forward. Back on July 10th, I guess that is a month ago today, I wrote to the mayor in chief regarding the arrest of a journalist, Andrew Buncombe of the Independent and the threat of arrest of other journalists. I have not yet received a reply. And as a reminder, it's really important to recognize that the municipal code and the police department's policies, as it relates to orders to disperse, specifically exempts journalists. Nevertheless, since then, journalists are still reporting having chemical irritants or projectiles used on them and not just reporting it. I viewed it on live stream, including Omari Salisbury of Converge Media, and his threat of arrest was one of the reasons for that. The letter earlier. Using these devices on journalists has in effect the same impact as threat of arrest and arrest. It results in journalists being unable to cover the events that they are there to report on and thereby informing the public. The operation of the free press is a linchpin of American democracy. Thank you. Thank you so much. Councilmember Harold, are there any other comments? Councilmember Swan. Thank you. I will, of course, be voting in favor of this resolution opposing police officers, targeting journalists, arresting and abusing them, and demanding that they turn over their video footage. And of course, the same goes for legal observers and medics. I would just add that this is a resolution, which means it does not have the force of the law. And even if it were an ordinance with the force of the law, we have seen what has happened with the police department and especially under Mayor Durkin's authority. We would need to remember the laws of Seattle have already prohibited police officers from targeting journalists in the way they have done, and it still goes on, which means that the resolution will be insufficient to defend the freedom of the press in Seattle. But it is still important for the Council to pass this resolution. And because this is our final police department related item this summer, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the members of the City Council for their help in preparing the budget amendments from my office. As I mentioned at Wednesday's Budget Committee meeting, city council staff have been working on the agenda items, you know, almost round the clock that day. They were working until just before midnight at least, and that was far from the first time it happened for the Budget Committee was the case the night before. And, you know, that Budget Committee and so on. And I know there are several other examples of it. I want you to particularly thank the people who worked directly on the amendments proposed by my office, of course, Central Staff Director Garrison arrested than either Patty White. Green. Allie Banerjee. Lisa Gay. Aisha Bianca Drummond. Greg Doss. Karina Boyle. Yolanda Ho. Jeff Sims. Lesch Watson, Guido Freeman and Calvin Joe. My gratitude to each and every one of them. They have worked incredibly long hours in the budget in general and our movement has depended on them to write many versions of amendments, to respond to every criticism of the amendments that our communities need. And I know that others in the movement also appreciate their work. I also wanted to quickly also publicly thank all the socialist community organizers in my office Jonathan Rosenblum, Nick Jones and Adams and Koski, who have done exemplary and self-sacrificing work. And, needless to say, thanks to the hundreds, if not thousands of people who have given of themselves in this fight, the fight will go on. I look forward to seeing everyone during the People's Budget campaign in the autumn. Thank you. Thank you. Cause there wasn't any other comments on the resolution. It looks like no other council members have comments on that because we're asking that you have the last word. If you could close out the debate and be great. Thank you. Council president. I want to thank Councilmember Peterson for his co-sponsorship of this resolution. I also want to thank Asha and Ali from central staff and several from my staff for working on this resolution and council members out of Portland, Oregon, who now, I think three weeks ago unanimously passed a similar resolution so that we could we could really build on that across this region. Unfortunately, we've seen very similar tactics used in other cities as well. One element that I'd like to lift from the ruling today, it says, as described by the Ninth Circuit, when wrongdoing is underway, officials have a great incentive to be blindfolded, to blindfold the watchful eyes of the fourth estate. When the government when the government announces it is excluding the press for reasons such as administrative convenience, preservation of evidence or protection of reporters safety, its real motive may be to prevent the gathering of information about government abuses or incompetence. This is a critical time that we're in. This is the tip of the iceberg in times of in terms of the type of accountability that I think our city demands, in terms of the images, livestreaming videos that we've seen. I'm proud of this council for taking this step today to pass this resolution. And I know that there will be more to come to provide safe avenues for journalists, for medics, for legal observers and for protesters. Thank you very much, Madam President. Thank you so much, Councilmember Skinner, for closing out debate on the resolution. So I am not going to ask that the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution as amended. Peterson I. Want. Yes. Strauss Yes. Herbold Yes. Lewis Yes. Morales Yes. Mosqueda. Yes. President Gonzalez. Yes. Agent Favre. None opposed. Thank you, Madam Sident. The resolution is adopted as amended and the chair will sign it. And please affix my signature to the legislation. Okay, colleagues. Is there any further business to come before the council? Seeing no further business colleagues. This concludes the items of business on today's agenda at our next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 17, 2020 at 2 p.m.. That again concludes our meeting for today. I hope that you all have a wonderful evening and we are now adjourned. Thank you, everyone. Oh. Councilmember Herbold, I believe you are going to speak to this bill. So if that's the case, I'm going to hand it over to you to address. Things are going to be my rules. I'm going to hand it over to Councilmember Lewis. Thank you so much. Okay. Yeah. Councilmember Lewis. Floor is yours. Thank you so much. You know, I don't know. We discussed this so much, I. I don't really have anything else to had, quite honestly, in the interest of time, given how, how late it is, I'll just I honestly just want to rest on my earlier comments, if that's okay. That's perfectly fine. We have been having conversations about this in council briefings, so totally appreciate that. Are there any other comments on the bill? Okay hearing as he nodded at the clerk gave call the roll on the passage. Up the Peterson. High. The a. Yes. Strauss Yes. Herbold Yes. Lewis Yes. Morales Yes. Yes. President Gonzalez. Yes. Eight in favor and unopposed. Thank you, Madam Clerk. The bill passes and the chair will sign it. And I guess that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation. Okay. Agenda item number 14. Will the clerk please read the agenda? Item 14 into the record. Agenda Item 14 Council Bill 119842 related to gig workers in Seattle establishing labor standards requirements for paid sick and paid safe time for gig. Workers. Working in Seattle and amending Sections 100.0 15.0 80 Ordinance 126091 to make technical corrections. Thank you, Madam Clerk. I moved to pass Council Bill 119842. Is there a second? Second? It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill comes from a state I believe you're you're going to take the lead on speaking on this bill, so I'm going to hand it over to you. Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, this is a technical amendment that clarifies that this ordinance only applies to independent contractors and not individuals who are already covered by Seattle's paid sick and safe time ordinance. And this should be pretty self-explanatory. But we were told by the Office of Labor Standards it would be helpful to have this in code. So that is what we are doing today. Thank you, Councilmember Mosqueda. Are there any other comments on the bill? Seeing and hearing none. Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill? Peterson. I. So what? Yes. Strauss Yes. Herbold Yes. Lewis Yes. Morales Yes. Macheda Yes. President Gonzalez. Yes. Eight in favor. Nine opposed. Thank you so much. The bill passes and the chair will sign it and ask the court please affix my signature to the legislation. Okay. Agenda item 15 Will the clerk please read Agenda Item 15 into the record? Agenda Item 15 Resolution 31961 affirming the rights of members of the press, legal observers and medical personnel covering the protests against police brutality. Thank you, Madam Burke. I will move to adopt resolution 31961. Is there a second second? It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution. Cameron will say that you are the prime sponsor of this resolution. I understand that you have a substitute version, so I'd like to suggest that before we make general comments that we get the substitute before us and then we can open up comments on the substitute version of resolution 31961. Thank you, Madam President. I move to amend Resolution 31961 by substituting version four for version to a second. Is there a second? Okay. It's been moved and seconded. Thank you. To substitute the resolution. Councilmember Mosquito, would you like us to just go ahead and take a vote on the substitute and then we can make we can make comments about the substitute version. Yes. And unless our colleagues is there, we did have a conversation about the contents of what is in the substitute version. Is there any need for additional description by the prime sponsor about what is in the substitute? Eight hearing, none will go ahead and ask the clerk to please call the roll on the adoption of the substitute. Peterson. So what? Yes. Strauss Yes. Herbold. Yes. Lewis. Yes. Morales. Yes. Let's get to. Okay. Yes. Yes. President Gonzalez. Yes. Eight in favor and unopposed. Thank you. The motion carries, the substitute is adopted, and version three of the resolution is before the council. I'm going to hand it back over to Councilmember Mosqueda to provide us with her remarks about the resolution as amended. And then I will open it up for general comment and debate, and we will then take a final vote on it because it was great. Thank you, Madam President. And just for the record, I believe we have version four in front of us, given the amendment that was circulated. Just want to double check that. That's what we voted on. Yes. Correct. That was an error on my my part of the script. I apologize. Okay. Thank you. Just wanted to make sure because President, I know it's been a long day, so I. I just thought I'd chime in there. Council colleagues, the resolution in front of us affirms that the free press have the right to cover protests in our community. We know that during the last few months of the protests that we've seen here in Seattle and across the country, journalists have been subject to tactics that serve to intimidate or discourage reporters from performing their jobs, their responsibilities to observe these events and report them to the public. Local media outlets have said that the ruling that we have seen from the local court has and that would require them to turn over photos and videos taken at protests, threatens journalists role and prevents them from being seen as neutral. Observers could further erode trust between the public and the local media. This is a concern that we on city council want to make sure that we address head on. We want to make sure that those who are reporting in our streets are free from intimidation when covering protests. Increasingly, as we saw covered and crosscut recently, journalists have reason to fear for their physical safety. I'm quoting from Crosscut right now when they say that covering events like protests journalists have given I'm sorry, when covering events like protests, journalists have reason to fear for their physical safety. Forcing journalists to give their work to police would make them less welcome and increase those risks. Protests have constantly been some of the most dangerous on the site jobs for journalists working in the United States. And that has increased over the past three years, saying much of the violence comes sorry, much of the violence comes from police committing acts of violence against journalists, but sometimes protesters also lash out. This amendment addresses these issues no matter what our political opinions are. It's important that journalists have the ability to cover protests safely, to be safe, to feel safe, and that they're right to cover the protest is protected. And that's especially true when it comes to our police force. These are members who work for the city. We want to make sure that those who are covering these protests are not subject to the issues that we've seen repeatedly here in the city of Seattle, where reporters have been hit with flash bangs, experienced tear gas and have also been arrested in our city and incarcerated for hours as they awaited release. This resolution also applies to legal observers and medics who are at the protest to ensure that their legal rights and their safety is also protected at protests. These legal observers and medics have also been subject to gassing, flashbangs, arrests and intimidation. Reports from the past month include legal observers who have been targeted by the police and medics who've been trying to aid protesters being pepper sprayed and hit in the face and also experienced flash bangs hitting their bodies. It is embarrassing that the city of Seattle is highlighted in a more recent Amnesty International report. The report is entitled The World is Watching Mass Violations by US Police as Black Lives Matter Protesters. It covers atrocities committed right here in Seattle in the chapter that is titled Human Rights Violations in the Policing of Protests. And Seattle is the first story that is highlighted in this report on page 22. And if I might briefly call your attention to one of the stories that has highlighted many of, you know, the story of Rihanna in that a 26 year old student who was struck in the chest by a flash grenade as she was kneeling down approximately 20 feet in front of the Seattle police line. She and her friends had been distributing food that evening at protests. She moved to the front to talk with police to de-escalate the tension. Shortly after talking with the officers, the was hit with a flash grenade. An intensive care nurse who was standing at the aid station behind the protesters said that she could smell the pepper spray and hear what that sounded like when the bombs exploded everywhere as people started rushing toward the aid station. She was treating four different people at the time, flushing chemical irritants from their eyes and treating welts on their arms and legs from being hit with flash grenades as she was treating them. Someone started screaming. She's been hit in the chest. She's been hit in the chest. Yet even as the medic and other medics scrambled to treat in there. Police continue to fired tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets at them and the aid station. Police then advanced on the aid station, firing flash grenades and pepper balls. Inside the station was clearly marked with identifying signs and red crosses and filled with tables stacked with water bottles and first aid supplies. This is why this resolution is important, both for members of the press or legal observers who we've seen on camera repeatedly being sprayed with pepper spray, and for medics who are trying to care for those who've experienced this type of trauma in our streets. We do have some positive news this morning, and that is why the resolution is amended in front of you to include a new Section five. The positive news is that according to a stipulated injunction from the Western District of Washington, SPV will be enjoying from using chemical irritants or projectiles against certain protesters. And the ruling says the federal judge in Oregon also stated that although the First Amendment does not enumerate special rights for observing government entities, the Supreme Court has recognized that newsgathering is an activity protected by the First Amendment without some protection for seeking out the news. Freedom of the press could be eviscerated. This is incredibly important that these decisions were made today. We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to not only separate members of the press from being seen as an arm of the government or an extension of the police, but that we're constantly thinking about how we protect them in the moments that they're covering folks expressing their First Amendment rights, in addition to making sure that legal observers and medics are protected as well. I appreciate all of your work, council colleagues, as we raise up this resolution and recognize that this follows on the heels of the unanimous votes that we've taken to prevent these types of weapons from being used in our street. Obviously, much more work to be done. And I know this council's committed to that. But I think that this resolution is an important step in reaffirming our commitment to protecting members of the press, legal observers and medics during this time. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilmember Mosqueda, for those remarks. The resolution looks like we have, I think, a couple more folks who are interested in speaking. So I'm going to head over to Councilmember Peterson first as one of the co-sponsors, and then we'll hear from Councilmember Herbold. Thank you. Thank you, Council President. And thank you, Councilwoman ROSQUETA, for introducing Resolution 31961 and for welcoming me as a co-sponsor. This resolution is very important to me because I'm passionate about the crucial role that a free press plays in a healthy democracy. We must always protect journalists, including those who cover protests and demonstrations so they can shine a light on the truth by providing accurate and independent reports. Social media posts and government issued reports are not a substitute for professional journalists. As a highly respected journalist, Walter Cronkite said, freedom of the press is not just important to democracy. It is democracy. Thank you. Thank you, Governor Peterson, from rehearsal. Thank you. I want to thank Councilman Muscat for bringing this forward. Back on July 10th, I guess that is a month ago today, I wrote to the mayor in chief regarding the arrest of a journalist, Andrew Buncombe of the Independent and the threat of arrest of other journalists. I have not yet received a reply. And as a reminder, it's really important to recognize that the municipal code and the police department's policies, as it relates to orders to disperse, specifically exempts journalists. Nevertheless, since then, journalists are still reporting having chemical irritants or projectiles used on them and not just reporting it. I viewed it on Livestream, including Omari Salisbury of Converge Media and his threat of arrest was one of the reasons for that. The letter earlier using these devices on journalists has in effect the same impact as threat of arrest and arrest. It results in journalists being unable to cover the events that they are there to report on and thereby informing the public. The operation of the free press is a linchpin of American democracy. Thank you. Thank you so much. Councilmember Herbert, are there any other comments? Councilmember Salaam. Thank you. I will, of course, be voting in favor of this resolution opposing police officers, targeting journalists, arresting and abusing them, and demanding that they turn over their video footage. And of course, the same goes for legal observers and medics. I would just add that this is a resolution, which means it does not have the force of the law. And even if it were an ordinance with the force of the law, we have seen what has happened with the police department and especially under Mayor Durkin's authority. We would need to remember the laws of Seattle have already prohibited police officers from targeting journalists in the way they have done, and it still goes on, which means that the resolution will be insufficient to defend the freedom of the press in Seattle. But it is still important for the Council, the resolution. And because this is our final police department related item this summer, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the members of the City Council for their help in preparing the budget amendments from my office. As I mentioned at Wednesday's Budget Committee meeting, city council staff have been working on the agenda items, you know, almost around the clock that day. They were working until just before midnight at least, and that was far from the first time it happened for the Budget Committee. This was the case the night before. And, you know, that Budget Committee and so on. And I know there are several other examples of it. I want you to particularly thank the people who worked directly on the amendments proposed by my office. Of course, Central Staff Director Garrison arrested Dan Reader Barry White. Green. Allie Banerjee. Lisa Kay. Asha Venkatraman. Greg Doss. Carina Boyle. Yolanda Ho. Jeff Sims, Lesch Watson, Keith Freeman and Calvin Joe. My gratitude to each and every one of them. They worked incredibly long hours in the budget in general, and our movement has depended on them to write many versions of amendments, to respond to every criticism of the amendments that our communities need. And I know that others in the movement also appreciate their work. I also wanted to quickly also publicly thank all the socialist community organizers in my office Jonathan Rosenblum, Nick Jones and Adams and Koski, who have done exemplary and self-sacrificing work. And, needless to say, thanks to the hundreds, if not thousands of people who have given of themselves in this fight, the fight will go on. I look forward to seeing everyone during the People's Budget campaign in the autumn. Thank you. Thank you, because there wasn't any other comments on the resolution. It looks like no other council members have comments on that because we're. Muscala you have the last word. If you could close out the debate, I'd be great. Thank you. Council president. I want to thank councilmember peterson for his co-sponsorship of this resolution. I also want to thank Asha and Ali from central staff and several from my staff for working on this resolution and council members out of Portland, Oregon, who now, I think three weeks ago unanimously passed a similar resolution so that we could we could really build on that across this region. Unfortunately, we've seen very similar tactics used in other cities as well. One element that I'd like to lift from the ruling today, it says, as described by the Ninth Circuit, when wrongdoing is underway, officials have a great incentive to be blindfolded, to blindfold the watchful eyes of the fourth estate. When the government when the government announces it is excluding the press for reasons such as administrative convenience, preservation of evidence or protection of reporters safety. Its real motive may be to prevent the gathering of information about government abuses or incompetence. This is a critical time that we're in. This is the tip of the iceberg in times of in terms of the type of accountability that I think our city demands, in terms of the images by streaming videos that we've seen. I'm proud of this council for taking this step today to pass this resolution. And I know that there will be more to come to provide safe avenues for journalists, for medics, for legal observers and for protesters. Thank you very much, Madam President. Thank you so much, Councilmember Skinner, for closing out debate on the resolution. So I am not going to ask that. The Court Please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution as amended. Peterson I. So want. Yes. Strauss Yes. Herbold Yes. Lewis Yes. Morales Yes. Mosqueda. Yes. President Gonzalez. Yes. Agent Faber? None unopposed. Thank you, Madam Sident. The resolution is adopted as amended in the chair will sign it. Please affix my signature to the legislation. Okay, colleagues, is there any further business to come before the council? They seeing? No for their business colleagues. This concludes the items of business on today's agenda at our next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 17, 2020, at 2 p.m.. That again concludes our meeting for today. I hope you all have a wonderful evening and we are now adjourned. Thank you, everyone.