Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Court Strikes Down California Town's Law That Prohibits Talking To Strangers

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California appeals court has struck down a shopping mall's policy barring people from approaching strangers to chitchat.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal this week said the rules at Roseville's Westfield Galleria violate the California Constitution's free speech guarantee.

The mall prohibited people in its common areas from approaching people they didn't know to talk unless the conversation was about business involving the mall or its tenants. The case arose after mall officials issued a citizen's arrest of a 27-year-old pastor who tried to talk about his faith.
The appeals court says the policy effectively bars shoppers from chatting about the weather or offering directions.

A spokeswoman for Westfield says the mall is considering appealing to the California Supreme Court.

I'll begin commenting by posting the following link from Wikipedia that contains this information about Roseville:

In CNN Money's "Best Places to Live"
study in 2006, Roseville was ranked the skinniest city in the country, with an average body mass index of 24.5.

Now, the bogus Body Mass Index was created to make vegetarians feel superior to normal people, but I guess the folks that run the Roseville Mall wanted to be even smugger than all that and tried including talking to strangers as being as bad as not being skinny. 

Just repeat after me, "Only in California...only in California..."

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