On Tuesday, the County Council appeared ready to embrace a proposed picketing ban that would keep sign wavers from targeting private homes.

While an official vote isn't expected until later this month, the council's support of a speech restriction looks like an ominous sign to the Utah Primate Freedom Project.

The animal-rights group has rallied at the homes of University of Utah scientists to condemn their research tactics. They have shouted from sidewalks, raised pickets and unfurled banners denouncing the school's staffers as torturers.

"This is an infringement on free speech," said Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch. "There is no question about it. But unfettered speech has never been protected by the Constitution.

". . . If you go into your house," he added, "you should have the right to turn off what you don't want to hear."

The county ordinance - similar to one adopted by Salt Lake City - would prevent protests within 100 feet of a "targeted" residence. It would not stop demonstrators, however, from marching through an entire neighborhood.

Republican Councilman Mark Crockett called the picketing policy a matter of privacy, saying the county must strike a balance between a person's right to speak and another's right to "feel safe" at home.

Primate Freedom Project backers have expressed little optimism about the council scuttling a speech ban that they think is unconstitutional.

jstettler@sltrib.com