City of Ashland Chamber of Commerce VIOLATES the First Amendment!
ACLU & Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, 03.07.2008 12:32
ASHLAND, OREGON, Independence Day 2008--
Ashland Chamber of Commerce told it CAN NOT Block Freedom of Speech!
The Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice (SOJwJ) and the ACLU have told the Ashland Chamber of Commerce they are in violation of our First Amendment. They can not charge 4th of July parade participants different fees based on the content of the entrant's message. This discrimination has been the practice of the Chamber and it must stop NOW!
From the Demand Letter sent to the Ashland Chamber of Commerce: "The ACLU and the SOJWJ, therefore, respectfully demand that, first, the Chamber alter its fee structure so as not to discriminate based on the content of entrants' message, and second, the Chamber refund the additional payment of $70 paid by SOJwJ for the 2007 Ashland Fourth of July Parade. If the Chamber fails to do both of these things, the ACLU of Oregon and SOJwJ are prepared to file a lawsuit to obtain this relief, plus the recovery of reasonable attorney fees."
Continue to read the full letter...
Don't Mess With OUR Freedom of Speech!
SOJwJ Stands Up on Independence Day!
Fighting For OUR Rights!
FULL DEMAND LETTER THAT HAS BEEN SENT...
July 1, 2008
Hon. John Morrison
Mayor, City of Ashland
20 E. Main Street
Ashland, OR 97520
Mr. James S. Kidd
Parade Chair, Ashland Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 1360
Ashland, OR 97520
Dear Mayor Morrison and Mr. Kidd:
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon ("ACLU"), this law firm represents Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice ("SOJwJ"). Last year, SOJwJ applied to march in the Ashland Fourth of July Parade (the "Parade") and accompanied its application with payment of the $30 registration fee required for nonprofit organizations. Mr. Kidd replied with a hand-written note explaining, "Not-for-profit entries are not permitted to display political or political party (i.e. Green Party, etc.) banners." According to the Parade fee schedule, "political candidates and organizations" must pay $100, rather than the standard $30, to register. SOJwJ promptly paid the outstanding $70 and marched in last year's Fourth of July Parade with its political signs. For this year's Ashland Fourth of July Parade, SOJwJ paid only the $30 fee for nonprofit organizations (plus a $50 late fee that is not at issue in this letter).
Both the ACLU and SOJwJ believe the the fee structure for Ashland's Fourth of July Parade is unconstitutional under both the United States Constitution and the Oregon Constitution. Because assessing a higher fee for political entries discriminates on the basis of the content of the entrant's message and thereby burden free speech, it violates both the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Free Expression Clause of Article I, section 8 of the Oregon Constitution. See Forsyth County, Ga. v. Nationalist Movement, 505 U.S. 123 (1992) (holding that a content-based parade fee schedule violates the First Amendment); State v. Robertson, 293 Or. 402, 412, 649 P.2d 569 (1982) (holding that content-based speech restrictions violate Article I, section 8 when they do not fall within well established historical exceptions).
In addition, after undertaking a thorough factual investigation, both the ACLU and the SOJwJ further believe the Ashland Chamber of Commerce's Parade-related decisions constitute state-action under both the federal and Oregon constitutions and are, therefore, subject to constitutional limitations. Many factors have contributed to this conclusion, including: a significant portion of the Chamberís annual budgeted revenue, which is used in part to pay Parade expenses, comes directly from the City's Hotel/Motel (Transient Occupancy) Tax; the special free use of Lithia Park granted by the City for the Parade; and the extensive collaboration between the Chamber and various City entities in planning and executing the Parade (for example, the City's record of scheduling road improvements to accommodate the Parade, the Chamber's joint venture with the City's Conservation Commission to "green up" the Parade, and the Chamber's publication of City notices in preparation for the Parade). The Chamber's extensive entwinement with the City in planning and executing the Parade renders its Parade-related decisions "fairly attributable" to the City, and thus "state action." See Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Association, 531 U.S. 288, 295-96 (2001). In addition to this extensive public-private entwinement, we believe that the Fourth of July Parade is itself a "public function," see North Shore Right to Life Committee v. Manhattan American Legion Post No. 304, 452 F. Supp. 834, 837 (EDNY 1978), a fact that Mayor Morrison seems to have recently acknowledged when he honored Mr. Kidd's leadership of the Parade as laudable "public sector" volunteerism. For all of these reasons, the Chamber's Parade-related decisions are held to constitutional standards.
The ACLU and the SOJWJ, therefore, respectfully demand that, first, the Chamber alter its fee structure so as not to discriminate based on the content of entrants' message, and second, the Chamber refund the additional payment of $70 paid by SOJwJ for the 2007 Ashland Fourth of July Parade. If the Chamber fails to do both of these things, the ACLU of Oregon and SOJwJ are prepared to file a lawsuit to obtain this relief, plus the recovery of reasonable attorney fees.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to your prompt response.
Very truly yours,
Michael H. Simon (representing ACLU & SOJwJ)
cc: Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice
ACLU Foundation of Oregon
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Hear ACLU-Oregon Director Dave Fidanque address the issues on the Brain Labor Report radio show
"Freedom and the ACLU" 
http://www.kskq.org/brainlabor/?p=321
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jobs with Justice (national): http://www.jwj.org/
ACLU - Oregon: http://www.aclu-or.org
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SOUTHERN OREGON JOBS WITH JUSTICE IN PRIOR ASHLAND 4TH OF JULY PARADES
Ashland's July 4 2007 http://rogueimc.org/en/2007/07/8872.shtml
Ashland July 4, 2006 http://rogueimc.org/en/2006/07/6908.shtml http://rogueimc.org/en/2006/07/6875.shtml
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Ashland's 4th of July parade... 03.07.2008 - 19:14 I'm glad to see SOJwJ and the ACLU go forward on this and hope that the city will also take a good look at the privatization of the parade. It is about time! vanessa houk>  e-mail:: lithiasalt@cheerful.com
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