What does the First Amendment protect? Some San Diego street vendors can be fined [Video]

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/ KUSI) — Starting Friday, the city of San Diego will begin enforcing the newly revised sidewalk vendor ordinance.

The crackdown on sidewalk vending activity has been going on since last year, but what has happened more recently is that many vendors have been using use the First Amendment as a loophole to avoid following the new rules.

As a result, the city council revisited the sidewalk vending ordinance in February to clean up the language. It clarified which vendors are protected under the First Amendment and which are not.

Here’s what the revision notes:

Activities in public protected by the First Amendment

▪ Speaking on a street corner or in a park about a political, ideological or religious topic

▪ Distributing brochures

▪ Art sales and art creation, including paintings, caricatures, balloon animals, sculpture, and other visual arts sold by the artist

▪ Street performances/busking

▪ Face painting or henna tattoos

▪ Distribution or sale of books, music, paintings, photographs, sculpture or …