Posted by Eugene Volokh:
No Stickers in Richmond Coliseum:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_07_05-2009_07_11.shtml#1247165344
The [1]Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:
The Virginia Citizens Defense League ... says officials at the
Richmond Coliseum recently attempted to stop members from handing
out blaze-orange "Guns Save Lives" stickers before an appearance by
radio and television talk-show host Glenn Beck....
Van Cleave said the confrontation occurred June 6 as guests were
arriving to see Beck, a defender of guns-rights and other personal
liberties. Group members were handing out stickers when Coliseum
officials told them to stop and advised that stickers were banned
from the city-owned venue, he said.
"Our people stood their ground, [saying] this is public, this is
freedom of speech," Van Cleave said.
Then, Coliseum officials turned their attention to people who were
wearing the stickers as they entered the building. "They had to
throw the stickers away," he said. "They couldn't hide it."
Van Cleave said most people followed the instructions. He said the
incident was particularly disturbing because other stickers were
being worn into the show without any apparent objection....
Rebecca K. Glenberg, legal director for the American Civil
Liberties Union of Virginia, said members of Van Cleave's group
were clearly within their rights if they were handing out stickers
on public property. She said it's less clear whether Coliseum
officials could ban stickers but added that any restriction would
have to be enforced evenly and be reasonable in a way that's
unrelated to content....
I assume from the story that the Richmond Coliseum is
government-owned, and if that's so then it's hard to see how it could
permissibly ban the wearing of stickers (as [2]it does; the rule seems
to have been added at some point in [3]2009, and Van Cleave says it
was "added after the Beck show"). Even distribution of the stickers,
like the distribution of leaflets, might well be [4]constitutionally
protected even in a nonpublic forum such as a sports arena. But the
case for First Amendment protection for the wearing of stickers
strikes me as even stronger, even if the no-stickers policy is being
enforced evenhandedly. And if it is indeed enforced only against
particular messages, then the violation would be especially clear.
References
1.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/GUNS27_20090626-221605/276663/
2. http://www.richmondcoliseum.net/visitor_policies.asp
3.
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.richmondcoliseum.net/visitor_policies.asp
4. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/91-155.ZX1.html
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