Denver moves to ban protesters' chains

DENVER, July 15 (UPI) -- Denver City Council members say they want to ban such items as chains, quick-setting cement and cutter-resistant locks to thwart political protesters.

The items would be deemed illegal in an attempt to keep up with tactics protesters may use at next month's Democratic National Convention, the Rocky Mountain News reported Tuesday.

"Protesters are getting pretty sophisticated," Councilman Doug Linkhart, chairman of the council's safety committee, told the newspaper. "In other cities, they're not just handcuffing themselves to each other. They put their handcuffs inside PVC tubes, which are inside concrete. They've figured out ways that keep the police from just using bolt cutters to cut them apart."

The language of the proposed ordinance reportedly would make it illegal to carry any "tool, object, instrument or other article" that can be used to obstruct streets, sidewalks and entry or exits from buildings or for hindering emergency equipment.

If passed, ordinance would join an Arapahoe County measure that bans shafts, rods, projectile launchers and other potential weapons at picket lines and other public assemblies, the newspaper said.