Long Island Crackdown On Free Speech Fails - Again

Seems the town of Oyster Bay, NY on Long Island has run afoul of the Constitution as they try to restrict free speech. Again.

In a ruling Tuesday, the court found a recently revised town of Oyster Bay code requiring permits for free speech unconstitutional, just as it did the original version...

Susan Mendelson was charged with violating an Oyster Bay town code for handing out literature without a permit at John J. Burns Park in August 2006. The city settled the resulting lawsuit filed by Nelson on behalf of Mendelson and other Jews for Jesus members prohibited from exercising their First Amendment rights at the park. The next year, the town revised its code, which still required a permit from the parks commissioner in order to distribute literature...

A month after the latest revision, Mendelson went to a public outdoor concert at the park with a friend to hand out Jews for Jesus leaflets and speak with attendees willing to hear their message. A public safety official and Nassau County police officers told Mendelson that she could not distribute literature without a permit. After explaining that a permit is not required for her to exercise her First Amendment rights and that she would not, therefore, be applying for a permit, Mendelson was arrested and charged with trespassing and violation of the permit ordinance.

You can get the decision at the link above. The policy was found unconstitutional and the charges were dropped.

Small hint - "Free speech" does NOT require government pre-approval. If, in any way, your policy means that people must have government approval before exercising their First Amendment rights, then your policy is not in compliance with the First Amendment. It's not rocket science.