Community Corner

Can Tampa Bay Handle 15,000 Noisy Protesters at the RNC?

From prayer rallies to a tent city, protest groups will converge on Tampa Bay for the Republican National Convention. Is their presence welcomed or too much?

All eyes will be on Tampa Bay when the city hosts the Republican National Convention from Aug. 27-30, with an Aug. 26 kickoff party in St. Petersburg.

The 40th Republican nominating convention will bring some of the biggest names in the GOP to the Tampa Bay area, from presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to Sen. John McCain and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

More than 15,000 protesters also will coverage on Tampa Bay. They will march, wave signs and rally. All will have one goal in mind: to grab the national spotlight for themselves and their causes. Some protersters even will try to get arrested if it will help them get attetion.

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The right to gather and express dissent in fundamental to our democracy. But is the influx of 15,000 demonstators too much for such an important event? Is Tampa Bay ready for this kind of disruption?

Let us know in the comments below. Leave the name of your city, so we can repost the best comments in a followup article in your hometown Patch.

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