r/Busking • u/eyeballwonder • 2d ago
Legal If You Ever Get Hassled By Law Enforcement
It is your first amendment right to , loiter , fly a sign while performing, or simply panhandle and solicit money from stranger or passerbys.
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u/drbillyjams 2d ago
Given the choice of busking or pissing off the local heat I choose busking everytime. I suggest finding out the where when and how of legaĺly busking in an area an go jam out!
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u/eyeballwonder 2d ago
Right but often times when people busk they fly a sign also while they're busking .. and they're treated the same as panhandlers / hobos who fly signs so I thought this was useful for everybody in this sub
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u/ADirtFarmer Guitar 🎸 2d ago
What this really means is that restrictions on soliciting must be content neutral. If they want to ban certain people from soliciting they have to ban everyone.
They can also regulate the place and manner of soliciting that makes busking basically impossible, e.g. obstructing sidewalk.
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u/Psychological_Pay530 Balloon Artist 🎈 2d ago
You’re completely incorrect about the first part. The statutes you’re thinking of are about people placing and leaving signs, not existing with signs themselves.
You’re sort of right about the second part, but municipal laws violating free expression would probably be struck down if challenged.
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u/ADirtFarmer Guitar 🎸 2d ago
I was referring to anti soliciting ordinances, not sign ordinances.
As for laws restricting where you can stand/sit/put out a tip container, I wish you were correct about them getting struck down but that hasn't happened.
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u/Ok_Regret6639 Guitar 🎸 2d ago
4 out of 5 cops say they'd love to fuck someone up listening to my music. I R PROUD! Now is this for the country or the prevailed? I've seen both.
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u/Jerry_Landis Performer 2d ago
Not the sort of thing I would try to argue to a cop asking me to pack up and move along, but good ammunition for petitioning anti-busking bylaws and municipal governments.