Court upholds ban on Hare Krishna soliciting in LAX airport

|
Newscom
The California Supreme Court ruled today that Los Angeles International Airport, pictured here, can ban Hare Krishnas from soliciting in LAX airport terminals.

The California Supreme Court today upheld a Los Angeles International Airport ordinance barring Hare Krishnas from soliciting donations inside airport terminals.

This ruling is apparently the final defeat in 13-year legal effort by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to secure the right to solicit in LAX airport under the First Amendment. But after two decades of legal challenges against similar measures in other airports nationwide, it also points to the religious organizations' narrowing legal options.

The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the LAX restriction on solicitation is constitutional. The Hare Krishnas' lawyer, David Liberman, told the Associated Press that this may be the end of the legal line.

“It’s pretty conclusive, and it doesn’t look like there are any loopholes,” Mr. Liberman said. “As far as I can tell, it’s over.”

The Hare Krishnas' legal trail has stretched back over two decades.

In 1992, ISKCON brought suit against New York City airports claiming that a ban on solicitation in terminals violated their First Amendment right to free speech. After winning in district court and losing in circuit court, ISKCON lost its case in the US Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the city’s prohibition was constitutional because an airport terminal is not a “public forum.” Furthermore, wrote Chief Justice Rehnquist for the majority, solicitation is disruptive in crowded, busy spaces and negatively affects business there.

The ruling did not discuss the distribution of literature or the solicitation on sidewalks outside the terminal proper. In 1999 the Krishnas brought suit against Miami International Airport’s ban on solicitation and the selling of literature anywhere in the vicinity of the airport.

The federal district court and appeals court ruled against the Krishnas, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the decision, leaving the Miami International Airport’s restriction – and similar restrictions across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia – intact and legal.

Most recently, the Krishnas tried again in California. A federal judge ruled in their favor, but on appeal the US circuit court referred the case to the California Supreme Court because the statue in question was a state law rather than a federal law.

That was the ruling handed down today.

In California and some other states, Krishnas may still distribute literature in airport terminals and solicit donations outside on sidewalks.

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Court upholds ban on Hare Krishna soliciting in LAX airport
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0325/Court-upholds-ban-on-Hare-Krishna-soliciting-in-LAX-airport
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us