FILE PhotoNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Contributor, a newspaper written by and sold by homeless and formerly homeless, is celebrating its fifth anniversary, but one Nashville suburb has won a federal lawsuit that prevents their street vendors from selling to motorists.
The street newspaper is sold by vendors on street corners to drivers and pedestrians. In celebration of their fifth anniversary, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and the paper's staff, volunteers and supporters were gathering at the Downtown Presbyterian Church on Wednesday.
But a federal judge on Tuesday dismissed their case against the city of Brentwood, a wealthy suburb in Williamson County, over citations given to vendors.
U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell ruled that a revised city ordinance banning people from selling newspapers to motorists in the street does not violate constitutional rights to free speech.
The American Civil
Liberties Union of Tennessee released a statement Wednesday saying they were disappointed with the ruling.
"We are very disappointed with the court's decision because
we believe it limits freedom of speech and press. Brentwood's ordinance
unfairly targets The Contributor and its vendors, broadly restricting
the very type of face-to-face speech central to the paper's mission of
fostering dialogue about homelessness with people who have experienced
it. We are currently evaluating the decision and weighing our options."
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
