Protesting at the Mall

A group of activists in Long Island, NY are protesting for their right to protest in area malls. This article explains how members of an antiwar group, Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives is pushing for the right to protest in various malls there, an action that is not supported by New York State law.However, according to the article, in California, free-speech rights are given to mall attendees despite the fact that the centers are private property.Though not a new issue nationally, this current go-round was prompted in March when an 80-year-old man was arrested for protesting the Iraq war in Simon Property Group's Smith Haven Mall.For our part, we understand both sides of the argument. Sure, protesters have many different venues like blogging, to air their grievances, points out a Simon attorney in the story. But in some of these suburban communities the mall is the only place where people can gather and voice their opinions in person to a large audience.Should companies like Simon just give in and let these people protest? Or will the activists bother shoppers, hurt sales and likely not pop into Banana Republic when they're done denouncing waterboarding tactics?