The protesters who are spending this rainy Wednesday on the north lawn of City Hall as part of the Occupy LA movement could get the formal support of the Los Angeles City Council under a resolution that will be voted on next week.

Introduced by Councilmen Richard Alarcon and Bill Rosendhal, the resolution calls for support of “the continuation of the peaceful and vibrant exercise in First Amendment rights carried out by ‘Occupy Los Angeles’ on the City Hall lawn.” The resolution was seconded by Councilmen Jose Huizar, Paul Koretz, Ed Reyes, Dennis Zine and Eric Garcetti.

A copy of the three-page resolution is below. One of the preambles tries to tie Occupy LA to the violent protests seen during the Arab Spring:

“Whereas, in cognizance that one of the factors spurring recent violent revolutionary protests in the Middle East is high income inequality, though the sobering reality is that income inequality in the United States is even higher than that of some of the countries torn asunder by violent revolution; for instance, according to the C.I.A. World Fact Book, the United States Gini coefficient, which is used to measure inequality, is higher than that of Egypt’s pre-Revolution.”

A vote is expected on Tuesday.

*Councilman Richard Alarcon also sent a memo to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, asking that he sign an executive order that allows the protesters to spend the night on the lawn of City Hall. Because the lawn is considered a park, the protesters are required to move their encampments to the sidewalk every night and then back onto the grassy area in the morning.

There was no immediate comment from the mayor’s office.

**According to the mayor’s office, Villaraigosa supports the right of the protesters to peacefully assemble however, he does not have the authority to amend the municipal code that prohibits sleeping in the park.

Also, earlier this morning mayoral staffers purchased 100 ponchos for the protesters, who were stuck out in the rain.