In times of repression, artists are often the first to be persecuted. For us, freedom of expression is a concrete reality rather than an abstract ideal or a theory. When a Constitutional violator like Giuliani begins eliminating our civil freedom we notice it immediately. Today he's often compared to a dictator and the term Police State routinely appears in articles and letters to the editor about him. Some people think that we just don't like Giuliani as a personality or that we believe any restrictions at all on artists are unfair.
Governments often use licensing requirements as a subtle means of repressing speech.
Once a license or permit for speech is required all that's needed to stop someone's speech is to deny or delay the issuance of the license or permit. By requiring a permit the government gets to decide who can speak and when they will be allowed to speak. This is the opposite of freedom of speech. In terms of this specific issue of artists in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Parks Department and the City allowed an unlimited number of artists to sell there without a permit for more than 100 years. My fellow plaintiffs in the suit, Wei Zhang, Knut Masco and Jack Nesbitt, not only want to sell their art without harassment but also feel a strong commitment to standing up to Giuliani on behalf of all New Yorkers.