Have the cops _measured_ you to determine whether or not you ARE breaking the ordinance? How loud are you? Do you have a sound level meter? Have you measured yourselves?
What is the limit in the ordinance (sound level at a particular distance)? Doing your homework is a Good Thing.
see: http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=sound%20level%20meter
$40 is a lot cheaper than a fine.
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Thanks for the advice. No one's used a sound meter. I doubt we're louder than a police siren or a firetruck.
That is excellent advice. We had a similar run-in with the Harrisburg Police Dept. some years ago, when I was with a Prolife group protesting outside an abortion clinic. The lawyer with our group looked up the codes regarding how many decibels of sound were allowed by the codes before a violation kicked in. When measured, the sound of our voices was within limits. The police stood down at future demonstrations, after being advised of this by our attorney.
Great minds think.....