For protesters, no bathrooms to occupy

If you’re a protester, where do you go to the bathroom, in lieu of a loo?

It may be a tempest in a teapot over toilets, but the few dozen Occupy Charlotte protesters camped out at the old City Hall uptown don’t seem to have a place to go. They want portable toilets set up, but so far the city says no-go.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx says he has received a number of emails and calls about the issue. In a prepared statement, Foxx says: “I am advised that the placement of semi-permanent structures on City grounds is prohibited. … I am asking for more information to ensure that the code is being applied to your group in a manner consistent with all other groups.”

Mecklenburg commissioners chair Jennifer Roberts is seeing what she can do. She tweeted saying she would look into it and said “we should be fair, support health if possible” but acknowledged that the site is under city, not county control.

Captain J.W. Estes of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, told the Observer editorial board that Occupy Charlotte isn’t being singled out; police are applying the same rules they do for all protest groups, and have no plans to add portable toilets to the property.

We understand the protesters need to go, but hey, no one said occupying is easy.

Taylor Batten