While restaurant owners are legally expanding their business operations on to the sidewalk of downtown Monterey by creating outdoor dining areas, a small group of community members are using civil disobedience to reclaim the right to sit in public downtown. The city has removed benches and enacted a new sit-lie law in an effort to rid the downtown of homeless people and travelers. On August 7, community members organized the latest in a series of sit-ins held on the sidewalk of Alvarado Street to directly oppose the law by breaking it.

Since February, Direct Action Monterey Network (DAMN) has organized the monthly sit-ins to oppose the new law, which went into effect in October of 2014. Sec. 32-6.2 of the Monterey Municipal Code now bans sitting or lying on most commercial sidewalks in Monterey between the hours of 7am and 9pm. To issue a citation, though, police officers must first warn an individual they are violating the ordinance.

"We will continue challenging this law, which is only one expression of Monterey's war against people without homes," an announcement for the August 7 sit-in read. Future actions are planned for the first Friday of every month from 4pm-6pm.

Read More with Photos | Direct Action Monterey Network (DAMN) | See Also: Sitting Freely in Downtown Monterey

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