Written by Don Byrd
Via Religion Clause, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Fairborn, Ohio’s Sweet Corn Festival may not prohibit attendees from soliciting for causes, including religious proselytizing. The involvement of the city in hosting and promoting the free, public event, the Court argues, makes the rules of the fair a state action, barred by the First Amendment from limiting speech in that way.
Both parties agree that Community Park kept its status as a traditional public forum despite the existence of the Festival. Whether a municipality has the power to transform a traditional public forum into a limited or non- public forum is an open question. Regardless of the answer to that question, Fairborn has not transformed Community Park into a limited public forum. . . . Community Park remains free and open to all members of the public during the Festival.
