Via the MoveAmericaForward press page: (Link) it seems like the measure making it harder for Marines to get an office in Berkeley passed, and that Marines will be all but banned from the city.

The Daily Californian also has the story. (Link). However, something that I noticed is that this measure doesn’t just outlaw Marines in all but name, it also gives special priveliges to CodePink. From the Daily Cal:

“Members of the Berkeley City Council showed their opposition to a Marine Corps recruiting office in Downtown Berkeley last night.

Council members supported the two resolutions-one supporting anti-war protests and the other criticizing military recruitment practices-citing opposition to the war in Iraq, deceptive recruitment practices and the right to protest.

“By taking a stand against recruitment we are protecting the health and safety of our youth,” said PhoeBe sorgen, a member of the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission. “I see the protest as taking a proud and courageous stand.”

Code Pink, a national anti-war grassroots organization, will be granted a parking spot for their regular Wednesday afternoon protests and will not need to apply for a sound permit for the next six months, under one resolution.

The other resolution more directly criticizes the presence of the center in Berkeley. The city manager was directed to send a letter to the U.S. Marine Corps saying they are “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” in the city.“

The lone dissenting voice on both parts of the vote was that of Gordon Wozniak, who spoke out on behalf of neighboring businesses. The Daily Cal quotes one such business as saying:

“Ziba Fanaian, manager of Z & S Beauty Studio, said the anti-war activists are disruptive when they create noise and block the sidewalk.

“Sometimes it is very crowded,” she said. “It is not easy for us, for business.’”

Other council members, Kris Worthington and Betty Olds, voted against one of the two parts of the measure.

My elementary analysis: The response from the Berkeley people is exactly what I would expect, and the response from the MAF people was exactly what I would expect. The bigger questions are along the lines of, is this legal, is this right, and will Berkeley stick to its (figurative) guns or will the Marines persist and get an office? On these points I have no idea what to expect.