I concur with the recent editorial regarding the lawsuit filed against the city of Portland over the buffer zone for protests near the Planned Parenthood clinic (“Our View: Portland protest buffer zone no free-speech violation,” Feb. 17).

It is not a freedom-of-speech issue – it is another issue of some who believe their rights supersede the rights of others.

The ordinance is a local, city of Portland ordinance, yet those who filed the suit live elsewhere. If they want to participate in Portland’s government, they should first move to Portland.

No one is restricting anyone’s freedom to speak with that buffer zone. The ordinance simply ensures the rights of others to move about freely, go in and out of the clinic, and do so without fear or intimidation. They have that right!

The couple who are suing, like so many other people, feel they have the right to force their beliefs on others. Like so many others who do nothing but protest, they think their rights are the only ones that matter.

The protesters would better serve the community and their beliefs if they lined up at the clinic and put their names on a list making themselves available to adopt any and all babies who others may not want or may not be able to support.

I hope the court does not rule in favor of that suit. It is just wrong to permit some to force their beliefs on others, particularly when that involves a trampling on the rights of those who are on the receiving end of the protesters’ belief in their own superiority.

Gary Phillips

Wells