I spend over an hour and a half today (7/9/13) handcuffed and pushed up against a cement wall by the Los Angeles Police. A group of shopping centers in the Westchester area of the City of Los Angeles South of Manchester Blvd and both East and West of Sepulveda Blvds (and owned by an entity called something like: Drolinger ) apparently has a policy of preventing any homeless person from asking for money in any area of their shopping centers. And such a policy is Illegal see Robins vs. Prunyard etc. But such a policy is being enforced by the Drolinger Shopping Centers. And at one of those shopping centers a homeless person was being told that they had to leave the shopping center because they were asking for money or they would be arrested. Sooooooo I began asking for money at the shopping center. The security guard said that the Trader Joes management had told him to make the homeless person who was asking for money to leave the shopping center. I then began asking for money outside an outdoor seating and eating area at the shopping center. The security guard told me to stop or leave the shopping center. Then the Trader Joes management told me to stop asking for money or to leave the shopping center. Then a person who apparently a representative of the owners of the shopping center told me to stop asking for money or to leave the shopping center. Then the Los Angeles Police came and handcuffed me and asked me questions etc. and got on their police radio and talked to people and asked me if I was asking for money etc. (and I told the police that YES I was asking for money.) And the Los Angeles Police kept me handcuffed for over an hour and a half. But then they let me go and told me that it was Illegal for me to ask for money but they were not going to arrest me this time. I asked them why they were not going to take me into the police station and book me if it was illegal for me to ask for money but the police would not answer my question. I think that We need to Fight Hard for the Right of the Homeless (and Anyone) to ask for money at shopping centers and of our rights to exercise our Freedom of Speech at the shopping centers (i.e. commercial areas which are not stand alone stores and places which are used by the public to gather and interact and meet socially in cafés etc. I think that this is a VERY IMPORTANT fight for our Free Speech (and First Amendment) Rights. What do others think? And I think that the Homeless Badly Need the Right to Ask for Money (without threatening or harassing people etc) in All Free Speech areas. What do others think?
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