Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The United States
Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit has ruled:
Fremont Street is a public forum. Therefore leafleting and vending message-bearing materials are permissible.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org//news.aspx?id=11678&SearchString=fremont_street
Laws that we must follow:
1. Obstructive use of public sidewalk
1.1. “Placing, erecting or maintaining an unpermitted table, chair, booth or other structure upon the public sidewalk”
1.1.1. There could be some gray area in this law because this seems to be addressing soliciting primarily. There have been court cases that have ruled that using tables to distribute literature is protected under the First Amendment.
1.2. “Carrying banners or signs which protrude beyond the person’s front or rear or which exceed the person’s body width, upon the public sidewalk”
1.3. “It is unlawful to intentionally obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic in an area open and available for pedestrian or vehicular traffic.”
1.4. References: http://ordlink.com/codes/clarknv/index.htm and http://ordlink.com/codes/lasvegas/index.htm
2. Disorderly Conduct
2.1. “It is unlawful for any person to engage in any of the following acts of disorderly conduct:”
2.1.1. “Use profane, indecent or obscene language in addressing another person”
2.1.2. “Commit a breach of the peace”
2.1.3. “Incite a disturbance”
2.1.4. “Interfere with, annoy, accost or harass any other person which conduct by its nature would tend to incite a disturbance.”
2.1.5. Reference: http://ordlink.com/codes/clarknv/index.htm
3. Noise
3.1. “The use or operation for any purpose of a loudspeaker or sound amplification device that is plainly audible to the human ear at a distance of fifty feet or more from the source of the sound”
3.2. Reference: http://ordlink.com/codes/lasvegas/index.htm
Laws that don’t apply to us:
4. Loitering and Prowling
4.1. “It is unlawful for any person to loiter or prowl upon
the private property of another without lawful business with the owner or occupant
thereof.”
4.2. This law doesn’t apply to us because we stay on public
property and are protected under the First Amendment.
4.3. Reference: http://ordlink.com/codes/lasvegas/index.htm
4.4. “"Loitering" means that you have no
legitimate purpose or business for being in a certain place. But your
evangelism activities are a legitimate purpose for standing on a sidewalk. Of
course, if you try standing in the middle of the street, you may run into a different
problem. (But that problem is obstructing the flow of traffic, not
"loitering.") The loitering charge, when made against a street
evangelist who is actively preaching the Gospel, is invalid.” http://www.aclj.org/Issues/Resources/Document.aspx?ID=634
5. Unlawful Assembly
5.1. “Any three or more persons who shall assemble within
the City with the intent to do any unlawful act…”
5.2. We are not intending to do unlawful acts and are
protected under the First Amendment to peacefully assemble.
5.3. Reference: http://ordlink.com/codes/lasvegas/index.htm
6. Solicitation
6.1. “Solicitation means to ask, beg, solicit, or plead, whether orally, or in a written or printed manner, for the purpose of obtaining money, charity, business or patronage, or gifts of items of value for oneself or another person or organization.”
6.2. First, we are not begging, soliciting, or pleading to obtain money. Our activities are all free of charge. Second, even selling gospel tracts or asking for charitable donations is protected under the First Amendment. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has said, “Our cases show that the sale of merchandise which carries or constitutes a political, religious, philosophical or ideological message falls under the protection of the First Amendment.”
6.3. References: http://ordlink.com/codes/lasvegas/index.htm and http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0115958p.pdf
6.4. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) says, “As long as you are giving away your literature for free, and you aren't panhandling for donations, you are engaging in the most protected form of speech. That does not mean that you will never have problems. Although it is often just an excuse for stopping street evangelism, this is one of the objections to leafleting we hear about most frequently. It often takes a strongly worded letter to attorneys for the city or county involved to resolve the problem.” http://www.aclj.org/Issues/Resources/Document.aspx?ID=634
7. Littering
7.1. The ACLJ says, “Nor
may your city justifiably treat leafleting as a crime. Long ago, the Supreme
Court declared unconstitutional a city ordinance which prohibited leafleting in
order to prevent the problems associated with litter. [FN11] A city's desire to
keep the streets clean and the sewers unclogged, the Supreme Court has said,
"is insufficient to justify an ordinance which prohibits a person
rightfully on a public street from handing literature to one willing to receive
it." [FN12] Rather than silencing those who are exercising the
constitutional rights to freedom of speech and of the press, your city must
address its fears about litter by punishing those who litter, not those who
leaflet. http://www.aclj.org/mediaset/default.aspx?ID=987&T=7