Democracy in Peril

By Steve Sebelius

FREE PASSAGE: Everybody who's walked along the Strip has been annoyed at one point or another by handbillers passing out sexually suggestive fliers. And everybody has probably given a mental pass to hotel security guards and Las Vegas police who've harassed those handbillers.

But street preachers?

The Review-Journal reported Sunday that some dedicated preachers of the gospel were harassed outside the Bellagio (then in the midst of a blackout) and the Venetian.

Their crime: standing with signs lettered with words like "homo," "sex addicts," "liars" and "porno freaks."

Granted, they'll not soon be asked to speak at a Dale Carnegie seminar. But that's just the thing: The content of the message doesn't matter.

In January 2003, a huge crowd massed on the Bellagio's sidewalks, protesting peace instead of war in Iraq. They weren't harassed, unless you count the Bellagio's playing of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." as the fountains danced.

The harassment outside the Venetian was even more egregious, since a federal judge has ruled that the sidewalk outside the hotel--although built on private property--functions as a public forum. And that means people are allowed to express their First Amendment rights there.

Just in case, the savvy street preachers brought audio and video recorders with them to document their treatment at the hands of cops and security guards.

Police told the R-J it's merely a case of preventing people from blocking the free passage of pedestrians along the sidewalk. But the Bellagio sidewalk is wide enough for thousands of peace protesters to march; how could a couple preachers keep pedestrians from passing?

To some extent, it's not the fault of officers, who are undoubtedly confused by the patchwork of varying court rulings. In some cases, courts have ruled that sidewalks are private property, and thus security can kick off anybody the hotel doesn't want to be there. In other cases, like at the Venetian, the opposite holds.

But don't forget that the Venetian case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear an appeal of the public forum conclusion. That means it's the law of the land. And, although attorneys may argue the point, if a federal court has held that one sidewalk built on private property is a public forum, shouldn't they all be?

It's obvious why hotels don't want union pickets, peace protesters, handbillers or even preachers outside their places: They tend to scare the customers. For a hotel owner, nothing is as nice as a clear, unobstructed walk right to the gaming floor.

What's less obvious is why police tend to side with hotel security forces. Cops are paid to protect the rights of everybody, and the law holds that you can speak your mind on a public forum, as long as you don't interfere with the right of others to pass unmolested. And a couple of guys standing around with signs doesn't constitute a sidewalk blockade.

It's long past time for hotels to cede the sidewalks to the people. Once somebody goes inside, it's a different matter. But outside, the Constitution still applies.