Court: Hare Krishnas Can't Solicit at LAX

(AP)  The state high court ended a long-running legal battle Thursday when it barred the Hare Krishnas from soliciting donations at Los Angeles International Airport.

The unanimous ruling written by Justice Carlos Moreno upheld the Los Angeles ordinance barring solicitations as a reasonable security measure to protect harried passengers rushing to make travel connections at the airport known as LAX.

California's other major airports supported Los Angeles' legal position, and the religious group and other organizations will be barred from soliciting donations in California airports.

"Soliciting the immediate receipt of funds at a busy international airport like LAX is particularly problematic," Moreno wrote for the court. "The problems posed by solicitations for the immediate receipt of funds that arise in any public place would be exacerbated in the often crowded and hectic environment of a large international airport."

The Hare Krishnas are still free to preach on airport property and ask passengers to send in donations later. But the group that has been a fixture at the airport since 1974 and was lampooned in the 1980 movie "Airport" is barred from receiving cash and checks on airport property. The ban applies to others groups, too.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California sued in federal court in 1997 when the Los Angeles City Council prohibited the receiving of donations at the city-owned airport. The council later changed the law to allow solicitations in designated areas until the initial federal lawsuit was filed.

U.S. District Court Judge Consuelo Marshall initially ruled in the Hare Krishnas' favor. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked the California Supreme Court to decide the case because it was a state law rather than federal law being challenged.

The Krishnas' lawyer, David Liberman, said no further appeals appear possible.

"It's pretty conclusive and it doesn't look like there are any loopholes," Liberman said. "As far as I can tell, it's over."

[mollydtt]

Actually, I'd love it if I didn't have to give money to skycaps, too.
I get panhandled all the time, and I don't have any money.

[nrsimhananda]

How can it be just about soliciting money when there are exchanges of money between the skycaps and passengers constantly? If security were the issue, then the court would have had to rule that the skycaps could only get money later also. All of you who missed this obvious fact are just happy that a spiritual path that you know nothing about, that you haven't even researched, is no longer able to do what a baggage man does for a living. You probably don't know that there are millions of Hare Krishna's all over the world, and that the Vaisnava "religion" has been practiced long before Jesus appeared on the planet. The government is very happy to control your lives more every day, and you, blind to what is happening, celebrate another loss of your freedom to say "yes" or "no" to a solicitation. Yet, you don't protest when billboards litter the landscape encouraging you to buy all sorts of useless and toxic things every day to and from the airport. You just don't like another human being in your face asking you directly. It's the age of impersonalism when even God doesn't deserve a face - though you have one. The loss of rights of the Hare Krishna's is a loss for freedom, not a win for protection. Go live in Singapore and see what your future looks like if you don't like democracies that are, by nature, messy and in your face.

[Fatesrider]

Are you truly that dense? Skycabs perform a service. Krishnas (and other religious beggars) don't. They don't allow panhandlers to beg at airports. I don't see any moral difference between them and religions begging at airports.

[patsw]

Read the article a little more carefully: the Krishnas are still able to be in the airport, preach in the airport, but they are enjoined from soliciting for money. If they disappear, we'll know it was about the money and not about the message.

[national1942]

Excellent Point. My money's on the money, not on the message.

[hateisafourletterword]

Thank god for some common sense. These people should be sent packing to another country and let them find their utopia. Hey Hare's, you missed Jim Jones by about 30 years.

[FUBeyondAnyRationality]

You may have common sense and have gotten it from God, but you don't have any rationality.

What does receiving money have to do with security concerns? Nothing.

You are merely prejudiced against this group. I do not support this group or any religious group, for that matter. That's not rationality. Religion is not the greatest invention ever created, as a poster below suggests, unless you are talking about how powerful it is to delude people.

[Overruled1]

Religion is the greatest invention man has ever created.

[rockcutr]

Cult defined is one having a charasmatic leader a doctrine and a dogma. Be very careful o christians what you whine about. Religous oppression is a clear focus of the federal government. All religion should be up in arms about this ruling. If you do not want to contribute walk on. You will not be abused nor shot for just saying no. Never understood why happy people are feared so greatly. Especially in La la land. What a joke the state of caclifornication is with it's superhero gubinor and texting 1st princes. It's all so frickn disney.

[BlandNancy]

Its not just religious groups that were soliciting money from people at LAX. The problem is that some of these solicitors are too aggressive and couldn't take no for an answer, and they were harassing people. There has been individual solicitors being banned and even arrested at
LAX for their aggressive behavior. If all solicitors, regardless of affiliation, were banned there, that would be fine-People have enough to deal with at any airport, no matter the location.

[Fatesrider]

Oppression to keep people from harassing others? Wow... Apparently you think religions should be free to impose their ideology - or at least their financial woes - on other people.

Religious oppression only occurs when your right to practice your religion crosses the line over my right to be free from your harassment. If you harass me, I respond in a negative fashion. If you practice your religion, tend to your own soul, and leave everyone else who isn't asking to join out of it, you are left alone to practice as you wish.

And nothing stops these folks from spreading their message at LAX - just from soliciting funds while they do it. That's not oppression. That's religious freedom.

Please learn the difference.

[Dgunner]

Grasshopper no more saki money! We go now!

[national1942]

LOVE your comment. My deep down belly laugh for the day. Thanks.

[pragmatist1]

Good for the ruling. They are worse than panhandlers and the homeless begging, harassing and being in your face all the time.

[galeanajusto]

Hare Krsna's four regulative principles:, no meat eating, no intoxications, no gambling, no illicit sex. Hare Krsna's qualities. Humbleness, humility, service. Hare Krsna's goal in life. To be the servant of the servant of God. Hare Krsna's philosophy: Simple life, high thinking.I can understand why it is so annoying to see them.

[Fatesrider]

You forgot one last regulative principle: Never take no for an answer.

Hence why they're banned from soliciting funds. They can spread their message as much as they want. I can always walk away from that, at least. Hard to walk away when they chase you down the terminal demanding money (which I've seen).

THAT is what's so annoying about them.

[silenus4]

The 1980 movie was "Airplane!". "Airport" was a series of 1970s disaster films. Way to fact check there, crack news team.

[thesevenveils]

The Hare Krishnas must be selling an awful lot of candles and incense to afford attorneys for this case. LAX must have been one of their best profit centers.

No longer will you hear "Just take this dollar and go, go far far away from me!"