NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said he has been working with the Metro Council and the city’s legal department to introduce new public safety legislation to promote peaceful assembly.

Nashville has seen several different white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups march through downtown Nashville this year.

Advocacy groups such as the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville have asked Metro leaders to condemn the hate and hold them legally accountable.

Last month, a hate group even interrupted a Metro Council meeting.

Mayor O’Connell said the introduced legislation will “enhance public safety while protecting the First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and speak.”

It contains an ordinance to create a buffer zone around public buildings and parking lots.

Another ordinance prohibits the placement of distracting signs across a highway. Last month, a neo-Nazi group did this while waving swastika flags on an overpass overlooking I-65 in Madison.

There is an ordinance that prohibits handing out fliers, or flyers, on private property overnight and an adjustment to the city’s mask-wearing ordinance. Hate groups have marched through Nashville wearing face shields and have passed out or walked flyer with his message around the city.

Regarding the mask law update, Metro’s mask laws currently prohibit the wearing of a mask in a public place unless exempted for special reasons, such as for children, workers in hazardous conditions, or for a costume. The mask adjustment adds religious reasons and medical purposes to the list of exemptions.

The mayor said that when political violence impedes government functions or creates public safety concerns, the city needs tools to respond effectively.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at [email protected].