A good day

[pch1.livejournal.com]

So I knew yesterday was going to be a good day when I was able to walk by both Starbucks and Diesel Cafe without being approached by any of the kids repping Save The GreenPeace Children from Masspirg.  Then I started to wonder, why is it that these guys can so relentlessly solicit donations everyday, yet if they were to put down their clipboards and strap on a guitar and play for donations they could be ticketed or asked to stop for performing without a permit.

What's up with the priorities around here.  I'd much rather be passing by a street performer than a political missionary.

Comments

[tober.livejournal.com]

I would even argue that a prohibition on busking or even requiring busking permits[1], at least under certain circumstances, infringes unacceptably on one's first amendment rights. Particularly, for example, it is possible for busking to be a form of political statement and if it is done in a public place and in a manner that does not unreasonably interfere with other users of that space and if it is not overly loud then that very much ought to be considered a protected activity. Further, busking is really not an act of commerce even if the performer leaves his instrument case open to receive tips. Donation-soliciting, on the other hand, in many cases is a commercial activity especially when, as is often the case, the person soliciting donations is an employee of a for-profit organization that has been hired by a non-profit group for the purpose of fund-raising. Thus, it seems to me that, if anything, fund-raising ought to be considered a less-constitutionally-protected activity than busking.

[1] I don't like the idea of needing a busking permit but if they're going to be required (as they are in Cambridge) then I think they're only acceptable if they are "must issue" and provided on a non-discriminatory basis and only for the purpose of controlling the density of busking in popular locations.

[ron_newman]

In Cambridge, the issue was more amplified noise than density. One purpose of the permit system there is to ensure that every performer is familiar with the noise regulations.