Judge Rules Out Some Curbs On Hare Krishna At Airport
This article, "Judge Rules Out Some Curbs On Hare Krishna At Airport" was published in The Pittsburgh Press, September 24, 1977, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
By MIKE ANDERSON
A federal judge here has yanked the teeth out of a county ordinance designed to restrict activities of the Hare Krishna religious sect at Greater Pittsburgh Airport.
U.S. District Court Judge Hubert I. Teitelbaum yesterday in an 11-page opinion ruled unconstitutional some sections of the county ordinance, which went into effect Sept. 1, saying the law restricts First Amendment freedom of religion rights.
The ordinance required any group desiring to solicit at the airport to get written permission from the airport director and pay $10 a day for a permit. Only two permits would have been given to a group.
The regulation also confined any soliciting of money to booths in certain sections of the airport and prohibited soliciting during rush hours and holidays.
Two Hare Krishna followers were arrested at the airport Sept. 2, and the sect immediately went to court.
Teitelbaum removed the most controvertial parts of the ordinance. While allowing written permits, the judge eliminated the $10 fee and increased the number of permits from two to six per group.
He ruled out the collection booths as unreasonably restrictive.
"The prohibition of solicitation on holidays and during rush hours is patently unreasonable," the judge wrote.
"It is precisely at these prohibited times that (Hare Krishna) religious activities are likely to be most effective."
Teitelbaum added a restriction "prohibiting any physical contact by the (Hare Krishna) follower with the prospective donor unless said donor has either consented or already agreed to make a contribution."
A favorite tactic of the group has been to pin a flower on a person and then ask for a donation, the judge noted.
An airport spokesman said the Hare Krishna members have been less aggressive this month and the number of complaints about the group has declined.