A vendor selling racist and anti-semetic items from a tent at Laconia's Bike week has raised questions over the right to sell such items.
Last week the Laconia mayor fielded complaints to shut the tent down.
But while the city considers how to prevent similar situations in the future, New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports many at the rally didn't think much of the tent one way or the other.
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Most vendors at Laconia Bike Week sell t-shirts, leather jackets, and other biker paraphernalia.
And so did the folk who ran the Rebel Rouser Confederate Shop.
But in the back of the tent the shop's owner also sold swastikas and bumper stickers carrying racial slurs.
Typically, when asked, festival goers said they didn't condone the Confederate Shop's views, but felt the vendor had a right to sell the items.
One man, an African American named JR, compared it to tv, if you don't like the show, he said, change the channel.
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4:05 If they sit there and they want to sell bumper stickers and stuff like that, you can either buy them or walk away. Buy into it, or turn your head...Just walk away. Turn your head. It doesn't affect me.
While JR's sentiment reflected the attitudes of many visitors, rally organizer Charlie St. Clair says he was appalled.
St. Clair says the vendor caught him and and the city off guard.
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6:23 there was terminology up there that was right to the point. Hate. It is hateful. It's disgusting. It's criminal. It praises criminal activity. It praises times in our history that I would think that every human being would be ashamed off and horrified by.
St. Clair says he didn't ask the vendor to close down, because he didn't want to violate the man's rights.
But he did ask the vendor who came from Alabama to cover up some of the more offensive items.
Going forward, rally co-organizer Jennifer Anderson says she would like to work with the city to better screen vendors.
8:51 when you are hosting a rally, it's almost like hosting a dinner party, you don't want people to leave with a bad taste in their mouth about your home. And it's the same in this rally we don't want people going back to wherever they live thinking this about Laconia, there is a sense of pride there, this is our hometown, this is our state and we want to show the best of it, and that's what we want people to remember.
Laconia Mayor Mark Fraser says he is also interested in better vetting of vendors.
But the mayor is cautious.
He says it's clear the city can't restrict the sale of an item just because city officials don't agree with the words printed on a t-shirt.
6:55 The short answer is we don't know yet...there may be nothing we can do to stop it. we certainly don't want to take a position that we can't defend...we are going to take slow reasonable approach, consult with the city attorney and what can and can not be done...
Assistant Attorney General Ann Larney says it's possible the city could regulate sales to some extent through the permitting process.
But she says people do have the right to hate.
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:46 if you are going to sell t-shirts, sell stickers or other things, groups have ot be treated the same and if groups find the language offensive, it maybe difficult unless you say stickers aren't going to be distributed...or sold, but that would have to be all stickers and t-shirts.
Municipalities do have some authority to limit free speech in extreme circumstances.
For example, if the vendor's presence threatened to cause a disturbance then the city could potentially halt sales.
And Acting Human Rights Chair and state Representative Rogers Johnson says that what Laconia should be considering.
:26 If a person who is promoting violence through the sale of bumper stickers, at what point do you cross the line from someone willing to buy a violent depicted t-shirt, to someone willing to commit that act of violence against a person of color?
As part of his responsibilities as a Human Rights Commissioner, Johnson has written a report calling on Laconia to make sure it doesn't have vendors selling similar items in the future.
He is sending his report to state officials including the Governor and Attorney General.
But for Jack, another African American at the rally, the point isn't putting a stop to the sale of gear promoting the KKK.
He says, in its own way, the Rebel Rouser Confederate Shop serves a very useful purpose.
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4:45 ignorance is everywhere, when they are out there, and you know who they are, it's better than when you don't know who they are.
For NHPR News, I'm DG.
