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Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 07:00 PM Mar 2015

Tour guides press ahead with speech lawsuit against Savannah

Source: Associated Press

Tour guides press ahead with speech lawsuit against Savannah
By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press | March 22, 2015 | Updated: March 22, 2015 1:28pm



SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Months after a federal lawsuit prompted Savannah to revise a local law regulating guided tours, Dan Leger remains determined to press ahead with the case in court.

"Until they quit licensing my free speech, I won't be satisfied," said Leger, a tour guide who does business under the name Savannah Dan.

Leger and three others sued the city last fall over a 1978 ordinance that requires tour guides to obtain a license that requires passing a test on history and architecture. The tour guides argue Savannah is violating their First Amendment rights by deciding who's qualified to tell visitors about Georgia's oldest city. City Hall insists it has a duty to keep uninformed tour guides from tarnishing Savannah's $2.3 billion tourism economy.

It appears a U.S. District Court judge will ultimately have to decide the issue. Attorneys on both sides met earlier this month after being ordered to discuss settling out of court. In a March 12 status report to the judge, lawyers for the tour guides and City Hall agreed they're so divided that "settlement negotiations are unlikely to continue."


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Tour-guides-press-ahead-with-speech-lawsuit-6151208.php

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1monster

(11,012 posts)
1. I will watch this with interest as my town also requires tour guides to be licensed
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 07:15 PM
Mar 2015

by the city even when they are employed by a tour business already licensed by the city... And even if they are just telling ghost stories on a ghost tour.

Stonepounder

(4,033 posts)
13. A long, long time ago - shortly after the invention of the wheel
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 10:06 AM
Mar 2015

while I was in college, one of the many part-time jobs I had was as a taxi driver. Back then we actually did have to pass a test to get a 'Chauffeur's Licence' and while that test didn't include geography, it did ask thing like 'what is the nearest cross-street to xyz hospital' and 'where is the downtown Hilton'.

If you didn't have a pretty good knowledge of where places were, you flunked the test. You didn't have to know every little street and alley, but you had to know the hotels, hospitals, landmarks, etc. And remember, this was in the days before GPS. We drove around with a Thomas Brother's Maps book on the seat beside us (a book of every place, street, etc).

malthaussen

(17,066 posts)
15. A law that varies by locale, of course.
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 01:56 PM
Mar 2015

Back when the sun was a white dwarf and dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and I was hacking, only a regular driver's license was required. This was Philadelphia, however. Other cities. other rules.

I still have those map books, though. Trivia: to know if their copyright had been violated, some makers of map books would add in non-existant streets or other errors to their maps. This actually caused me to get lost on a couple of occasions.

-- Mal

wordpix

(18,652 posts)
2. I go with Savannah & why does it deny tour guides' speech just
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 07:15 PM
Mar 2015

b/c they have to pass some rudimentary tests involving history/architecture they're telling visitors about?

It has nothing to do with speech; this has to do with knowing your stuff.

 

YOHABLO

(7,358 posts)
3. Savannah is a tourist oriented city and they make a lot of revenue from it. I would think they could
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 07:25 PM
Mar 2015

appoint reputable experts to go out and evaluate the guides. I wouldn't want to go on a tour and be fed a bunch of bull, and there is probably a lot of that going on. I don't have a problem with licensing if it is a legitimate business. They are getting paid a fee.

rpannier

(24,304 posts)
9. You mean like in Slumdog Millionaire?
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 11:31 PM
Mar 2015

When the boy is explaining the 'history' of the Taj Mahal to the tourists?

 

AwareOne

(404 posts)
5. Sounds like good government to me
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 09:13 PM
Mar 2015

unlicensed tour guides are like Fox News, wanting to spew a bunch of bullshit and pass it off as Truth. Keep them regulated so people get the truth about Savannah.

 

Kelvin Mace

(17,469 posts)
6. I think the law should be struck down
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 10:10 PM
Mar 2015

The city is then free to hand out "accreditation" to any tour guide who passes its tests, and advise visitors to consider whether their guide is accredited or not.

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
8. That works in many places
Sun Mar 22, 2015, 10:45 PM
Mar 2015

I've been to places where accredited tour guides display their licenses, and tourists are encouraged to check.

That's probably a good idea - put up some signs on the way into town, and have a severe penalty for forged credentials.

cynzke

(1,254 posts)
11. Reasonable Alternative!
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 08:15 AM
Mar 2015

It encourages tour guides to voluntarily get accredited while cities avoid a 1st. amendment lawsuit. It encourages tourist to choose a reputable tour guide. The decision rests with the tourists to choose.

jmowreader

(50,451 posts)
17. The problem with that...
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 09:55 PM
Mar 2015

If a teabagger decided to go to Savannah, give highly slanted tours of the place, and charge half what the "accredited" guides did, he would get a TON of business.

 

Kelvin Mace

(17,469 posts)
18. Upholding the First Amendment doesn't always give us
Tue Mar 24, 2015, 03:03 PM
Mar 2015

results we like.

We still are supposed to do it.

Chicago1980

(1,968 posts)
10. I'm an architectural river tour guide here in Chicago.
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 02:00 AM
Mar 2015

We're not required to be licensed. I've been doing it for 14 years now.

Not that I wouldn't pass my subject matter because I know my shit, but there are sometimes tall tales that you hear.

There should probably be some type of quality control.

Free Speech doesn't = freedom to have your own set of facts.

surrealAmerican

(11,340 posts)
12. Welcome to DU.
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 10:00 AM
Mar 2015

Actually, this doesn't appear to be a speech issue at all. The city isn't telling these guides what they can or cannot say, just insuring that they know the actual history.

 

geek tragedy

(68,868 posts)
14. Their free speech rights aren't being trampled. They're just not allowed to charge
Mon Mar 23, 2015, 10:20 AM
Mar 2015

money for a service unless they're qualified to deliver that service.

If they want to offer free tours of the city, then they would not have to comply.

This is how tour operators are licensed all over the place.

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