According to Cohen, bills don't get the same critical look in general council meeting that they do in committee. Often, the council is just a rubber stamp for committee projects.
After the meeting, members said they weren't sure whether the council would pass the amendment--or, for that matter, whether they personally would support it.
Smith said he wasn't sure what he would do, though he gave the amendment a 50-50 chance of mustering the required three-fourths majority.
Letalien wasn't too hopeful about the amendment's chances.
"It'll get a majority. Maybe two-thirds," he said. "But three-fourths is a lot."
The spirited debate over the Letalien-Orr bill didn't come until the council had gone over 20 simpler proposals, many of which didn't even draw questions or opposing speakers.
The more contentious of the changes included a proposal to extend the council's support of free speech to include the right to assembly. Practically, such a change might make it unconstitutional for the council to come out against a neo-Nazi rally in the Yard, council members said.
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