Are there any real laws against standing preaching in the streets?
There is a (an America, per chance) guy in the town square blasting out, with portable speaker and microphone, his religious message. In the midsts, he is calling everyone who does not believe wicked & sinful and other colourful names.
I don’t object to his patter particuarly, but the fact he is so bloody loud and condecending and seems to think himself so much better than everyone else. So, where exactly does he stand legally in doing this? I heard once it is OK provided he does not draw a crowd. Is this true?
Where would I stand legally if I had went over and turned his speakers off, as I nearly did, cause the racket was almost unbearable. Do I not have a right to enjoy my lunch hour without his interuptions?
I am in Northen Ireland, as the laws are, I’m sure , very different elsewhere.
Here in the states, street preachers, and anyone else indulging in their freedom of speech, are limited in the decible level of the sound they produce.
If complaints are made then the offender is monitored with a decimeter, if they are above the level decided upon as ‘bearable’, they can be cited. Same goes for ice cream trucks and the like.
Laws and sound levels will vary from locale to locale, so the above should be taken as only a generalization; (IANAL, YMMV) some areas don’t have laws about offensive sound levels and only discover that when they try and shut someone down.
I live in a seaside community which was affected by a boardwalk preacher for a few summers. City officials discovered they would need to pass an motion regulating noise before they could do anything. So it took a few years to finally get rid of him.
An interesting side note - I heard a report on NPR recently that discussed a certain town that tried to outlaw door to door proseletyzing (presumably targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses.)
The law was deemed unconstitutional by a higher court. However, they were able to pass a law banning door to door sales solicitation.
This kind of thing is regulated locally in America. And yes, there are a ton of laws about public behavior.
Not all of these types of laws would be in place in all locations, but here are some of the kinds of things that might be applicable:
“Creating a Public Nuisance” - behavior that causes, say, traffic tie-ups (pedestrian or vehicular).
Noise limitations - restrictions that might force someone to turn off their public address system, if not shut up altogether.
Parade and/or event permits - these are required in some areas so public officials have sufficient notice of what’s happening in their jurisdiction in order to make any necessary preparations for public safety.
It’s been argued (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) that such vague laws are just legal clubs for the police to use in suppressing speech that is offensive to the mainstream.
I doubt you’ll find any laws specifically banning religious preaching on a street corner. However, it’s likely that there ARE such bans in place for public institutions (schools, town halls, places like that) because of the constitutional separation of church and state.
Didn’t really have time to whistle up a petition, decibel reader or court order in my lunch hour. Pity…
Guess I, and everyone else, will just have to live with it. I wonder if he really believes he is creating converts / interest in the church & Jesus, rather than merely creating annoyance, mockery and hatred towards it? You know, he probably does.
If he is still going strong when I am heading home perhaps a 2’ x 4’ round the side of the head could cure the noise problem.
