The ordinance also stipulates that anyone in the “audience will refrain from creating, provoking or participating in any type of disturbance involving unwelcome physical contact.” Some activists have interpreted the provision to mean that they would be guilty of a violation if they say something that provokes someone else to hit them.

Seewood said that was not the case.

Despite the ordinance’s specificity, it’s unlikely that it was drafted with particular Ferguson protesters in mind.

In fact, cities and other organizations across the country have adopted virtually identical versions of it as far back as 2008.

The ordinance specifically says the council may place restrictions on the “time, place and manner” for interactions between the public and City Council, echoing language in Supreme Court decisions over the past half century, said Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center and dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University.

“Time, place and manner is a honored phrase in First Amendment law,” Paulson said. “Although we are always free to say what we wish, the time, place and manner in which we say it can be controlled if government has an overriding and rational public interest in doing so.”