Occupy L.A. Demonstrations Gain City Council Support
Seven out of 15 members of the Los Angeles City Council signed a resolution Wednesday to support the Occupy L.A. movement.
In the seventh day of demonstrations, hundreds of people are continued camping out on the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall as part of a nationwide movement to call attention to the inequality between the rich and poor in America.
The resolution was signed in support of the "peaceful and vibrant exercise in First Amendement Rights carried out by 'Occupy Los Angeles.'"
The resolution calls for a formal vote on October 28th which will call for "responsible banking" and require the city to cut ties with banks and financial institutions that have not taken measures to prevent foreclosure.
An official vote of the resolution will take place on October 28th, that calls for "responsible banking" and would cut free from banks not cooperating with the effort to prevent foreclosures.
"This resolution supports the goals of Occupy L.A. and the need for responsible banking reform," said valley-area City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who co-sponsored the motion with his Westside colleague Bill Rosendahl.
Protestors are demonstrating against layoffs, pay cuts, benefits and other economic policies that benefit the corporations and the wealthy community.
Police have been forcing people from sleeping in the city parks, such as the lawn of City Hall, at night. Therefore, protestors have had to sleep on the sidewalks surrounding city hall, and have been moving back onto the lawn around six a.m. every morning.
Councilman Alarcon sent a request to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to have the Occupy LA protestors no longer be forced to move onto the sidewalk every night because of the danger of "inadvertently contributing to a potential major public safety issue, should a vehicle swerve off the road."
Though Villaraigosa has not had a chance to consider the request, demonstrators have been protesting peacefully even through the heavy rain.
Many demonstrators took the protest inside to address the council.
"It's not a hostile environment as we see in Greece and other parts of the world," said Councilman Dennis Zine, a former police officer. "You've got our support...You're out there in the rain, which is a miserable condition to live in."
Councilman Bill Rosendahl said Occupy LA democracy was at its best.
"There was an Arab Spring. You're seeing an American Autumn. And it's connecting all over America," Rosendahl said. "So thank you for making the American democracy work today."
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