During the public comment portion of Nashua’s Board of Aldermen meetings, anyone can have their three minutes at the podium. Just sign in, and when it's your turn, state your name and your address, and the floor is yours.
But a new lawsuit claims that forcing people to share their address is a chill on free speech, especially when the topic they may wish to address is controversial.
The suit was filed on behalf of Simon Amaya Price, an anti-transgender rights activist from Massachusetts who describes himself as “formerly trans.” Price frequently testifies at public hearings across the region on topics related to transgender rights. On Feb. 10, he travelled to Nashua to raise his concerns about the city flying a pride flag on a city flag pole.
But when it was his turn to speak during the public meeting, Price declined to provide his name and address for the record.
“I have been advised by my security team to keep that private,” Price said.
Lori Wilshire, president of the city’s Board of Aldermen, initially gave Price permission to speak, but then quickly changed course, citing a longstanding Nashua ordinance that requires speakers to state their name and address.
Price’s attorneys say that ordinance is unconstitutional and should be overturned.
“Nashua’s address rule unreasonably deters speakers who want to discuss controversial topics or take unpopular positions — preventing the board from hearing a particular set of viewpoints and input prior to making decisions on resolutions and other matters,” lawyers for the Institute for Free Speech, a Washington-based advocacy group, said in a newly filed civil suit.
When reached for comment, a lawyer for the city said he was unaware that a lawsuit had been filed, and said Nashua would respond in due course.
Across New Hampshire, it’s common for people to state their name and address during public comment periods before public bodies or at town meeting debates. The New Hampshire Municipal Association, in guidance posted on its website, recommends that towns and cities require people to "identify" themselves during public comment portions of meetings, and set a time limit.
Some municipalities require people to be residents before commenting during a public hearing. But Nashua doesn’t mandate meeting participants who want to speak during the public comment period of Board of Aldermen meetings live in the city.
Greg Sullivan, an attorney for the New England First Amendment Coalition who is not involved in the lawsuit, said that raises questions about the need to disclose an address.
“To me, there’s no reason that an individual who wants to exercise their free speech rights has to even give a name, never mind an address,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan added that anonymous speech, whether in pamphlets or in person, has been “critical to building this country from Day 1.”
According to his lawsuit, Price has been the target of death threats for his anti-transgender advocacy work. In a 2024 op-ed published in the Boston Globe, Price, then a recent graduate of the Berklee College of Music, described the pushback he said he received from the school community after he planned a public event to discuss his experiences transitioning from male to female and then deciding to detransition as a teenager.
“It’s no wonder so few of us speak up,” Price said in the op-ed.
The lawsuit alleges that because Nashua posts videos of its public meetings on YouTube, and publishes detailed meeting minutes that include speakers’ addresses, he would have to “publicly dox himself” to present his opinions.
The lawsuit further claims that the address rule is unequally enforced. During the same February meeting, one public commenter simply stated which ward he resided in, as opposed to his complete address, and was allowed to speak.
The Institute for Free Speech previously sued Nashua over its flag pole, prevailing in a case last year brought by residents who sought to fly flags that opposed trans athletes participating in sports, and another flag associated with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
