Downtown speech: ACLU, city reach a deal on Fremont Street

The 14-year battle over free speech rights under the Fremont Street Experience canopy appears to have ended in much the same way it began: with a convoluted, unnecessary ordinance.

The Las Vegas City Council and City Attorney Brad Jerbic instigated the series of legal challenges by kicking out the panhandlers, street performers, church members, protesters and solicitors who annoyed casino interests by frequenting the public forum. In 1997, the council approved an ordinance that banned all sorts of activities under the pedestrian mall’s video roof.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada sued in federal court, and a judge ruled the law unconstitutional. So the city tried again, was sued again, and lost in court again. The city was preparing another law last year, conceiving a contradictory “free expression zone” outside the canopy, when it wisely decided to head off another certain court defeat and get the ACLU’s input.

The result is an ordinance that regulates pedestrian movement and safety instead of protected expression.

The new ordinance, which could be passed by the council as soon as Feb. 2, requires performers and solicitors to stay at least 20 feet away from building entrances, ATMs, fire lanes and crosswalks and at least 10 feet away from retail kiosks.

Performers must remain within 2-foot circles, and tables set up to distribute fliers or other materials must be no larger than 3 square feet. Outdoor diners would be off-limits.

“It will give enough space for people to exercise their First Amendment rights while not interfering with businesses,” said Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for the ACLU of Nevada.

Perhaps. But the city and the Fremont Street Experience do not have a track record that inspires confidence.

Will security officers let unions and political activists hand out fliers and T-shirts from behind 4-square-foot tables, but break out their tape measurers and calculators and shut down church groups with 3.5-square-foot surfaces? Will homeless men who stop to tie their shoes 17 feet from an ATM be ejected?

We shall see.