Appeals panel upholds ACLU claim against Vegas downtown- can't ban people from distributing leaflets

kvvu ^

[chance33_98]

Appeals panel upholds ACLU claim against Vegas downtown

(Las Vegas-AP) -- A federal appeals court has ruled the city of Las Vegas and operators of the Fremont Street Experience can't ban people from distributing leaflets, collecting signatures and circulating petitions.

The unanimous ruling by a panel of the Ninth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned a lower court's ruling that the downtown pedestrian mall is a nonpublic forum and not subject to strict scrutiny over limits placed on First Amendment activities.

First Amendment advocates are praising the decision, saying it sends a message to local governments trying to improve downtown areas that they can't block off streets and sidewalks to expression.

City Attorney Brad Jerbic says the city will study the ruling to determine how to proceed, and Mark Parris -- president and C-E-O of the Fremont Street Experience L-L-C -- says the appeals panel used an incorrect standard to make its decision.

The A-C-L-U filed suit against the city of Las Vegas in 1997 after officials imposed ordinances prohibiting any form of solicitation and leafleting at the Fremont Street Experience.

[shiva]

They must be distributing biblical tracts.

[chance33_98]

No, but the guy passing them out is named jesus, and he is here illegally :)

[aimhigh]

No, unfortunately, they are passing out porn advertisements for strip bars. Had it been Bible tracks, they would have been banned.

[festus]

;The unanimous ruling by a panel of the Ninth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals

Why do I always glaze over and move on after seeing that sentence ?

The 9th Circus is just that.

This is your court. This is your court on drugs. Any questions ?

[gtilv]

Passing out Bible tracts has already been banned for some time on Fremont. When my 13 and 15 year old daughters were singing Christmas carols downtown last year with their school group ( House of Knowledge Christian Academy), they decided to hand out a few tracts and ask people if they remembered what Christmas was all about. Security guards went to them directly within about 45 min and told them to stop. As far as porn tracts, they were not being handed out either ( like what is done on Las Vegas Blvd. ) but, Glitter Gulch, a topless club on Fremont, had beautiful girls out front of their place handing out flyers of some sort. They were to( what I would guess )the absolute legal limit of public nudity. I could not allow my children to even cross by the front of their building, because of the attention they attracted. I would guess that this sort of marketing would generate a greater responce than porn tracts in that particular area. So from their point of veiw, bible tracts might hinder buiseness, because of possible moral implication to the readers, or maybe just competition,( go to church on Sunday instead of going to the nudie club and casino).