Animal rights protesters win suit over Cow Palace access

[Guest guest]

[The following article comes from today's San Francisco Chronicle. For those of

us who have spent many hours protesting rodeos at San Francisco's Cow Palace on

and off since 1988, this federal Court of Appeals ruling is great and long

overdue news. Congrats to Alfred Kuba for bringing this successful legal

action.]

State loses suit over Cow Palace:

Protesters can't be kept from entry area, appeals court says

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

 

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

 

The Cow Palace violates freedom of speech by shunting animal-rights protesters

off to so-called free-expression zones, far from the main entrance, during

rodeos and circuses, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

 

The Daly City arena, owned and operated by the state, has been restricting

protest locations since 1988. The current rules require demonstrators to stay in

one of three small areas at the edge of a parking lot, 200 to 265 feet from the

main entrance.

 

In Tuesday's decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected the

state's arguments that the limits are necessary to prevent traffic congestion

and protect drivers and pedestrians.

 

The 1-A District Agricultural Association, the state agency that manages the Cow

Palace, offered no evidence that the handful of protesters who showed up at past

events would cause hazards if they had more access to patrons approaching the

arena, the court said.

 

Even if the state's concerns about congestion and safety were justified, the

current policy " prevents far more speech than is necessary to achieve the

goals,'' said Judge Martha Berzon in the 3-0 ruling. She said the state might

instead require demonstrators to stand a certain distance from the entrance or

limit their numbers or placement in areas near the entrance.

 

The ruling, based on free-speech protections in the California Constitution,

overturned a decision by U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton upholding the

restrictions.

 

The annual Grand National Rodeo is scheduled Oct. 29 to Nov. 7 at the Cow

Palace. The ruling will not yet be final during the rodeo, but Alfredo Kuba of

Mountain View, who filed the suit as coordinator of Silicon Valley In Defense of

Animals, said his group plans to be present and will enforce the ruling as soon

as possible.

 

" It's a tremendous victory for all people of California who want to express

their views freely,'' declared Kuba, who said he has been arrested several times

for violating the restrictions. " If one cannot communicate one's message to the

patrons we want, then we basically have no free speech.''

 

He said the protesters don't want to block anyone's access, but should be

allowed close enough to the entrance that they can speak to or leaflet most of

the patrons.

 

Deputy Attorney General Charles Getz said no decision has been made on an

appeal. But he said the court left room for a ban on demonstrations in front of

the main entrance, " which has always been the concern of the Cow Palace.''

 

Getz also said the ruling could be applied to comparable restrictions on

political demonstrators - for example, the fenced areas designated for

protesters at both recent major party conventions - if they occurred in

California, where free-speech rules are more protective than U.S. constitutional

standards.

 

Kuba's group holds protests outside the rodeo and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum

& Bailey Circus, another annual event at the Cow Palace. Kuba said its concerns

include the cruelty in such rodeo events as steer wrestling and calf roping, and

the conditions under which animals are kept and trained for the circus.

 

The Cow Palace Web site says the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is

committed to humane treatment of animals, and cites a 2001 survey in which

veterinarians at the association's 67 rodeos reported 25 injuries to animals.