The Jackson City Council voted 3-1 to approve a city ordinance that will restrict abortion protesters from getting near patrons of the state's sole abortion clinic.

The four of the seven council members present voted on the ordinance after 16 public speakers gave their thoughts in a packed, standing-room-only meeting at City Hall Tuesday.

It also follows a public hearing Thursday where supporters and proponents of the ordinance spoke at length.

Councilmen De'Keither Stamps, Ward 4, and Aaron Banks, Ward 6, were not present for the vote and Councilman Kenneth Stokes, Ward 3, is out on a leave of absence due to health reasons.

Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote voted against the ordinance. Voting for the ordinance were Council President Virgi Lindsay, whose Ward 7 includes the Fondren neighborhood where the clinic is located; Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. and Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman.

The ordinance refers to all health care facilities in the city, but it came about specifically due to concerns of the business community near the Jackson Women's Health Organization in Fondren, where protesters demonstrate frequently.

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Buffer zones, restrictions on amplified noise, shouting

Protesters at the clinic will now have to abide by a 15-foot buffer zone from the front of the building and an eight-foot personal bubble for clinic patients.

There is also a restriction on any amplified sound within 100 feet of a health care facility. City Attorney Tim Howard added an amendment that added shouting to the ordinance, which he defined as "loud, boisterous or raucous shouting in any residential or quiet zone."

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the ordinance did not originate from his office but from the business community in Fondren where the clinic is located.

Priester on Tuesday agreed with Howard's earlier description of the ordinance as "very narrowly tailored."

"I do believe the city of Jackson has a compelling government interest to make sure we have safety and a secure economic business community to make sure people can get to a health care facility," he said.

"What doctor's office can I stand outside of with a bullhorn and that would be OK?" Priester asked.

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Foote was the sole vote against the measure.

He said the city should embrace differences of opinion, enlisting the mayor in that cause.

"Mr. Mayor, if Jackson is going to be the radical city you want it to be, we need to embrace protest. I encourage others to vote against it," he said.

Business community needs 'better and more peaceful' moments

But Lumumba said while a majority of the protesters are peaceful, there's a small percentage that has historically caused problems.

Turning to the ordinance critics in the council chamber, he said:

"Everyone on your side of the line doesn't necessarily exhibit your beliefs or exhibit your discipline. We have all witnessed a volatile circumstance outside this clinic."

Lindsay ultimately sided with the business community. She said the decision was difficult.

"This is my ward. The layers of complexity on this makes it a very difficult decision for me...I've seen the protests and what we must consider is what the business community is putting up with as a real need for some better and more peaceful moments in their communities," she said.

Earlier, Mississippi Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson, who is also a pastor, said the ordinance would have a chilling effect on free speech. He said the ability to protest against abortion is a higher calling.

"Some things are more important than economic development," he said.

Contact Justin Vicory at 769-572-1418 or jvicory@gannett.com. Follow @justinvicory on Twitter.