Panhandling Ban at LAX Upheld

The Ninth Circuit has issued a decision lifting an injunction barring enforcement of a panhandling ban at Los Angeles International Airport.  The decision, ISKCON v. Los Angeles, is based on an interpretation of California law by the California Supreme Court.  That court held that regardless of whether LAX is a public forum, the panhandling ban is a reasonable time, place and manner regulation.  That holding is consistent with Supreme Court precedents that limit face-to-face requests for funding in public places, but allow distribution of literature and other activities that do not carry the same purported risk of fraud.