The ACLU and the Tea Party have found at least one thing in common: believing that Redding, California’s local ordinance limiting free speech has to go.

 

In separate legal briefs, the two disparate groups challenged Redding’s new law restricting the distribution of leaflets outside the city library. Under the new ordinance, only one group at a time could hand out flyers near the public library, and only if they had a permit. Also, the law banned soliciting for charitable contributions and uttering offensive words near the library.

 

Supporters argued that the new rules would keep the library grounds from becoming an unpleasant place for visitors

 

ACLU attorney Thomas Burke did not see it that way. He said there are already plenty of “reasonable” limits on speech activity that the city can use, making the new law unnecessarily restrictive.

 

On Monday morning, Superior Court Judge Monica Marlow sided with the ACLU and the North State Tea Party Alliance and announced that she will issue a preliminary injunction against the ordinance on June 27.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

ACLU Teams With Tea Party Against Redding (by Tish Kraft, Courthouse News Service)

Judge Thwarts City on Library Leafleting (by Scott Mobley, Redding Record Searchlight)

Tentative Ruling (Redding Superior Court) (pdf)