Americans are guaranteed the right to assemble and to free speech. They may protest all they want, providing they do not infringe on other's rights in the process. Violence, vandalism and lawlessness are not rights. They are violations of the law.
If a mob begins destroying property, assaulting police or other citizens, or commiting some other lawless behaviour, the police need some type of non-lethal means to bring the mob under control. As the article states, the United States has deemed the use of water cannons to be an undesirable (not illegal) method of crowd control.
Being able to identifiy members of a mob is a very desirable tactic, in that it discourages unlawful behaviour. The feeling of anonimity that people feel when in a crowd, often gives them the belief that they are not accountable for thier actions. Photography and video taping by authorities can often heighten an indivduals feeling of accountability, detering them from violence, vandalism, looting and other unlawful behaviour. Though illegal in many jurisdictions, some protesters will don masks, usually with intent to breaking the law. In cases like that, I believe police should use some type of tagging method during violent demonstrations, along with video tapping the event. Video tapping not only gives pause to violent demonstrators, but it also deters police from over reacting, knowing that their actions are being captured on tape, for review later by their superiors. Paint guns sound like a viable, non-lethal method of tagging trouble makers
Everyone has a right to protest. No one has a right to be a lawless anarchist thug.
