(UPDATE) Opinion: Spray paint as a weapon.

To be clear, I support expanding Medicaid. 
I have all along. 
It goes without saying that I also support free speech.

But the attempts to spray-paint medicaid expansion slogans on our property in front of the capitol building are off base. If you support yesterday's effort and condemn the police effort to stop it, ask yourself if you would also support the Tea Party or the Klan or Fred Phelps idiot followers, or Trump's new devil-sperm "minister/doctor" out there spray-painting their slogan as well. Should police really stand aside and let them have at it?

Would you also support them spray-painting their "free speech" on the street in front of your home? (Think neon-green eight foot letters with arrows pointing to your home: "Product of Devil Sperm Lives Here!")*

Carry signs, chant chants, and most importantly, gather political support for the critical expansion of Medicaid in Alabama. But leave the spray cans at home.  

Note: chalk, not spray-paint

(Yes, the BLM slogans were painted on city streets here in Montgomery, in New York and Washington D.C....but those were city projects. Not a group of random activists painting whatever they wherever they want. People who oppose those sanctioned slogans should work to defeat the elected officials who gave their approval.) 

UPDATE: Statement from Montgomery's Police Chief:

A message from our Chief of Police Ernest N. Finley Jr.
In support of our Mayor’s vision, we believe in the right and power of lawful protest. If citizens will avail themselves of the proper permitting, we can partner with them in an expression of their first amendment rights. However, the defacing and/or destruction of public property will not and cannot be tolerated regardless of who does it.
Regarding the recent arrests of demonstrators in Montgomery, while we have policies in place to deal with these situations, we are always searching for ways to improve all phases of police-community interactions. To that end, while any protester involved in criminal activity will continue to be subject to prosecution in accordance with the law and MPD policy, we are implementing practices to ensure these same individuals are treated in a respectful and professional manner. Ultimately, it is our hope to work together harmoniously to eliminate the need for arrests.
We certainly don't want men, women, young people or the elderly to get harmed in the process and it is not our intent to humiliate anyone for standing up for the issues they believe in. Over the last several weeks our Department has proven that Montgomery honors the right to peacefully protest. Our interactions with local community leaders in the wake of the George Floyd killing shows how Public Safety & Public Protest can coexist.
It is my sincere hope that we can work through the recent difficulties and move forward together as a community.