ACLU, city at odds over ordinances

A legal tiff, with more sequels than "Rocky" and "Friday the 13th" combined, aired its next trailer in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

The gist of the 10 years of legal wrangling between the city of Las Vegas and free speech advocates is that the city still wants to control what advertising and solicitation activities can take place at the Fremont Street Experience, while the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada says it can't, citing a document called the Bill of Rights.

Once again, the ACLU is asking a federal judge to stop the city from enforcing two ordinances that would prevent people from panhandling, peddling smut, hawking cheap jewelry, and setting up tables and handing out information on topics such as global warming.

In November, the City Council unanimously passed the two ordinances aimed at restricting behavior on the pedestrian mall. The two ordinances were drafted in response to a federal appeals court decision in October that declared the city's old ordinances unconstitutional.

But the ACLU and its co-plaintiffs -- they include the Sin City Chamber of Commerce representing about 100 adult businesses -- say the new ordinances are the same as the old ones with only a couple of minor changes.

"This is a big waste of money and time because the courts have already spoken on the substantive areas," at issue, said Allen Lichtenstein, general council for the ACLU of Nevada.

Lichtenstein said the new ordinances are as unconstitutional as the old ordinances.

City attorneys disagreed. They said, for example, the new language is more specific in the definition of solicitation.

They believe the changes will allow people to pass out information on the Fremont Street Experience without worrying about violating the law, as long as they don't use a table.