Hip-Hop Summit Action Network Chairman Russell Simmons and President Dr. Benjamin Chavis have filed a compliant in the US, claiming that the New York Temporary State Commission on Lobbying has violated their First Amendment rights by investigating the Network and requiring its leaders to register as lobbyists. The moves by the Commission followed a rally staged in New York to protest at the state's mandatory minimum sentencing rules for drugs related offences, known as the Rockefeller Drug Laws.
Simmons said: "We have a fundamental right to speak out on issues of government policy. We should not have to register with the government before speaking out on issues."