<HTML>           Local News: Thursday, March 13, 2003              Westlake mall limits access to              protesters              By Eric Sorensen              Seattle Times staff reporter              Westlake Park may well be              Seattle's soapbox, the central              rallying point of anti-war vigils              and other protests.              But just next door is Westlake Center, a privately              owned shopping mall that would just as soon not see              the hurly-burly of public debate visited on its              customers.              The center has cracked down on protesters passing              through the mall on their way to and from the              monorail station on the center's top floor. Yesterday,              the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington told              Mayor Greg Nickels the center is violating city law              by telling people they cannot display anti-war signs              and, in one case, an anti-war button in the downtown              mall.              The ACLU also complained to the center, asking it to              tell its guards "that the job of providing mall security              does not include filtering out customers based on              their political viewpoint."              The center says that, in barring protest signs, it is              not acting on any attitude toward a possible Iraq war              but a desire to provide a safe, friendly place for              shoppers.              "It really has nothing to do with politics or trying to              make any type of pro- or against statement or              anti-statement," said Brenda Klein, the center's              general manager. "It really truly is protecting and              providing a friendly shopping environment for our              people to be in."              "The city needs to deal with this," said Doug Honig,              the ACLU of Washington's communications director,              "that people go to the city's only central gathering              place and afterwards need to use the monorail and              they get hassled by security people for carrying              signs."              The ACLU says several people told how guards              approached them as they waited to board the              monorail on Feb. 15 and told them they could not              have signs and would have to leave.              Beth Sanders, who works for Government              Accountability Project, which protects free speech of              government workers, said she was told to put her              sign down while waiting to board the monorail on the              way to a rally at Seattle Center. When she refused,              she said, "it proceeded to escalate quickly."              Sanders said she was first told the sign might harm              her 10-year-old daughter, or that it could hurt other              people in line. Then, she says, she was told, "You'll              scare the shoppers."              She was told to leave, which she promised to do —              by the monorail. Finally, when her daughter and              another girl grew frightened, she put her sign down              but was still told she was banned from the mall. She              did manage to leave by the monorail.              She said her husband, who is a lawyer, has since              found an agreement under which the Westlake              owners give the city public access through the center              to the monorail.              Another person told the ACLU that on March 6 he              was told he could not wear a small "no war" pin. The              center's Klein said she does not know of the incident              and that pins are allowed if they are not offensive.              In a letter sent yesterday to Nickels, Washington              ACLU Executive Director Kathleen Taylor said              ordering a law-abiding person to leave "simply              because the owner does not want the person to              express political views" is a violation of the city's              open-housing and public-accommodations ordinance.              The ordinance forbids barring the use of a public              accommodation because of a person's "political              ideology."              "The Westlake Mall's crackdown on free speech is              surprising and distressing in a city that prides itself              on political engagement and tolerance for diverse              viewpoints," Taylor wrote.              Regina LaBelle, counsel to the mayor, said              complaints to the city will be handled by the Office              for Civil Rights.              Retailers regionwide are leery of protesters.              The Simon Property Group, owner of the Northgate              and Tacoma malls, would allow an anti-war T-shirt if              its wearer did not appear to be at a mall to protest,              said Lynn Castle, regional director of marketing,              community and public relations.              The Simon Group views protests as a "disruption of              the shopping experience," she said. If someone              were carrying a sign on a stick, said Castle, "that              would be something that we take as a political              action, and we would ask the person to leave."              Exceptions are made for people who are asking              customers to sign initiative petitions, but the              signature gatherers must first fill out proper mall              paperwork and have insurance.              Bellevue Square, the largest mall on the Eastside,              doesn't allow signature gathering or surveying,              honoring what it considers the customer's right "not              to be interrupted," said spokeswoman Anne Marie              Peacock.              But, according to the ACLU's Honig, the Westlake              situation is special, because the sign-carriers were              simply passing through and weren't protesting.              However, the shopping center's Klein said people              with signs can avoid walking into the center by              simply using a ground-floor elevator directly to the              elevated monorail platform.              Eric Sorensen: 206-464-8253 or              esorensen@seattletimes.com              Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company </HTML>