For Republicans who fret that prominent party officials don't often take a public stand for the environment, we bring you heartening news: Mecklenburg's GOP leaders are proudly green this week, speaking out to protect a precious patch of Charlotte's grass.

The endangered turf is at Old City Hall, where Occupy Charlotte protesters began camping out earlier this month - and perhaps might remain until next year's Democratic National Convention. That possibility has prompted an outpouring of grief from Republicans, led by Mecklenburg commissioner Bill James, who took a break from bashing homosexuals to condemn this new crime against nature.

James sent emails this week to fellow Republicans showing the lush condition of the grass before Occupy protesters arrived. Protesters were violating the law by camping out in front of the office building, he said, and he criticized the hypocrisy of "eco-friendly" individuals putting the grass in peril. "No way they can put tents on it 24/7 and not kill off what took years to grow," he wrote.

City councilman Andy Dulin, who received the email and photo of the lawn, said he can only imagine "the crap it looks like" now. Dulin, who regularly lands on the side of developers against ordinances protecting trees and other greenery, told the editorial board Friday that "conversations" are happening to produce a new ordinance that would disperse the protesters. He insists the move has nothing to do with Occupy's liberal message, but that "It's crazy that the city of Charlotte has no ordinance or policy that stops someone from camping forever on our property." A new ordinance would be fine with former mayor and future gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory, who also rose up against the Occupiers this week. McCrory's beef is more practical than horticultural. If officials let a small group set up tents, he told the Observer's Tim Funk, what happens when large groups of protesters show up next September for the convention? McCrory also noted that such demonstrations could be bad for public safety, not to mention unsanitary.

Or, as Dulin put it: "If one protester urinates or defecates on public property, he should be hauled off to jail."

Dulin is correct there. If protesters run afoul of city ordinances, they should be expelled from public property. That's what happened this week in Oakland, where officials ordered Occupy protesters to vacate public property because of sanitation issues and violent incidents.

For now, that's not the case in Charlotte, and Capt. Jeff Estes of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police told the Observer that city code doesn't put a time limit on protesting in a public space.

The City Council should think hard before rushing forth an ordinance limiting such legal protests. Yes, grass is in jeopardy, and the protesters are an eyesore to some. But democracy can be messy, and the right to congregate sometimes makes us uncomfortable. Legislating against it might give some the impression that council members are more interested in suppressing protesters than protecting the ground they're standing on.