Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center protests

Code Pink demonstrators in front of Berkeley City Hall on February 12, 2008.

The Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center Controversy began in September, 2007 when a small group of protesters from Code Pink began periodically protesting in front of a United States Marine Corps Officer Selection Office located in Downtown Berkeley, California at 64 Shattuck Avenue by standing in front of the office holding banners and placing signs.

History

In early 2007 the Marine Recruiting Center for the northern Bay Area relocated from Alameda to downtown Berkeley in order to be closer to the University of California, Berkeley. Some nearby businesses have complained about the noise level. On January 29, 2008, Code Pink began collecting the necessary 5,000 to qualify a city measure for the ballot that would require public hearings before military recruiting offices could open near schools. Ex-Marine Staff Sgt. Bill Hamilton told the SF Chronicle that the recruiting office was only for recruiting college not high school students.

On February 1, 2008, protesters from another group, The World Can’t Wait, chained themselves to the doorway of the recruting office, blocking the entrance, and preventing people from moving in and out.

City Council response

On January 29, 2008 the Berkeley City Council passed two motions regarding the controversy. The first motion, passed 8-1, gave anti-war protesters Code Pink a reserved parking space in front of the recruitment and waiving the normally required noise permits so they could operate their loud speaker.

The Berkeley City Council 6-3, passed a motion to have the city clerk write a letter to the U.S. Marine Corps to inform them that they were "unwelcome intruders" that were "not welcome" in Berkeley. The motion stated that the United States had a history of "launching illegal, immoral and unprovoked wars of aggression" and that "military recruiters are salespeople known to lie to and seduce minors and young adults into contracting themselves into military service with false promises regarding jobs, job training, education and other benefits." The Berkeley city council also asked the city attorney to investigate the possibility of fining the Marines for violating the city's ordinance requiring equal-opportunity hiring without regard to sexual orientation because of the militaries don't ask, don't tell policy.

National government response

The position taken by the Berkeley City Council was seen by many across the country as a sign that they did not support the troops. Berkeley's motion was followed by a backlash in conservative blogs and among conservative lawmakers, including introduction of the "Semper Fi Act" in Congress to cancel several million dollars in federal funding for public school lunches and nutrition education, the University of California, Berkeley, and a proposed state-operated ferry service to Albany and Berkeley. In response to the council's vote, on February 1, 2008 Senator Jim DeMint said that he would introduce legislation that would strip Berkeley of it's $2,392,000 in federal funding. On February 6, 2008 Jim DeMint was joined by Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, John Cornyn, James Inhofe, and David Vitter in the Senate to introduce the Semper Fi Act of 2008 which would strip federal funding from Berkeley. In total, the bill was co-sponsored by 10 senators.The bill strips $243,000 from the Chez Panisse Foundation which provides school lunches to children in Berkeley, and $975,000 allocated to build the Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service at the University of California, Berkeley which would have created an archive of Robert Matsui's papers and a new endowment.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau sent a letter to 52 lawmakers in Washington stating that UC Berkeley had no connection to the council's decision, that the UC campus and the city of Berkeley are completely separate institutions, that the Berkeley City Council has no authority over the UC campus, that UC Berkeley has long standing ROTC programs, and that he believed the council proposals were "ill advised, intemperate and hurtful, particularly to the young men and women and their families who are sacrificing so much for our country." City Council member Gordon Wozniak criticized the act as unfair, stating "These people have nothing to do with the council's action. They should not be penalized just because they happen to live in Berkeley." Representative John Campbell sponsored a similar bill in the house that had 71 co-sponsors.

State government response

Republican Assemblyman Guy Houston of San Ramon announced that he will introduce legislation to withhold state transportation funds from Berkeley until they rescind their "war on the U.S. Marine Corps." Houston's proposed bill intends to withhold $3.3 million in state funds from Berkeley.

Council partial reverses

Some members of the city council regretted their vote almost immediately after the motion passed. 25,000 people wrote to city leaders urging them to rescind the letter. Councilwoman Betty Olds said she was ashamed of her vote. On February 4, 2008, Council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli called on the council to rescind the letter to the Marines and to declare that Berkeley was against the war but supported the troops. On February 12, 2008, the council met to reconsider the Marines Recruiting motions. On this day, at its peak, 2,000 protesters gathered outside city hall, with one group protesting against the city council motion that included Move America Forward, and the other, consisting mainly of Code Pink, protesting in support of the motions. The protest lasted 24 hours, ending at around 1:00 am on February 13. There were four arrests. The city of Berkeley spent $93,000 in police overtime on February 12th as part of a large police presence to keep the peace.

On February 13, 2008, after four hours of debates and public comment that included over a hundred speakers and ended at 1:30 in the morning, the Berkeley city council decided 7-2 not to send the letter they had asked the city clerk to draft to the Marines. The new letter written by Mayor Tom Bates and Council members Max Anderson, Linda Maio and Darryl Moore affirmed "the recruiters' right to locate in our city and the right of others to protest or support their presence." The new letter also stated that Berkeley did not support "the recruitment of our young people into this war" but "deeply respect and support the men and women in our armed forces." The council decided not to offer an official apology but some individual members of the council had regret.

The council did not reverse four of its previous motions concerning the marine recruiting center. The council allowed to stand a resolution to "applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink for "[impeding], passively or actively" military recruiting. The parking permit and noise permit for Code Pink was also upheld. Mayor Bates told the San Jose Mercury: "The Marines have the right to be in Berkeley. It was bad judgment for them to come here. We wish they would leave. We support their right to be here but we wish they would move on."

After council reversal

Federal and state legislation seeking to remove funding for Berkeley was not dropped and is currently still pending. Senator DeMint said after the council's actions: "It's a national embarrassment that these officials refuse to apologize to our troops and their families and continue to support actions against military recruitment." Because of Democratic control of the legislatures and fear of voter backlash, it is unlikely that either measure will pass. The group supporting Marine recruiting, Move America Forward, sent 3 tons of candy, cookies, hot cocoa, coffee and beef jerky to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Code Pink continued its protests outside the recruiting center. Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin said of the council's decision: "We are really proud of the Berkeley City Council for not buckling under intense pressure from the pro-war 'swift-boaters."

Move America Forward advertisement

On February 21, 2008 Move America Forward screened a television advertisement on the University of California, Berkeley campus that was critical of the Berkeley council. The 60 second advertisement showed council members and the mayor stating that they had no reason to apologize followed footage of two former marines asking the viewers to sign an online petition to persuade the city council to apologize. The advertisement will run on Bay Area and Sacramento news programs as well as nationally on Fox News and CNN. In response to the advertisement Council member Max Anderson said that the council will not be bullied or coerced into action.