Gilbert Farmers Market

Petitioning

Gilbert Farmers Market, a DBA of Sunny Markets, LLC

Petitioning Rights (1)

No: 1.3 Revised August 2023

Introduction:

Circulating a petition is a “core political speech” deserving the strongest possible protection under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. (2)

The Supreme Court has said that public sidewalks are “traditional public forums” that are “held in trust for the use of the public” for the purposes of “communicating thoughts between citizens and discussing public questions.” (3)

The government may not ban petitioning on sidewalks or require petitioners to obtain permits. (4)

It may only establish “reasonable” rules, such as rules against blocking pedestrian traffic or the entrance to buildings and parking lots and rules against setting up tables on sidewalks.

Q. Can I petition within the Gilbert Farmers Market (GFM)?

A. No. The GFM does not permit petitioning by standing, walking, or wandering within the designated market area.

Q. Can I petition within the entrance of the GFM?

A. No. The GFM does not permit petitioning within the market entrances to prevent blocking pedestrian traffic and for the safety of customers entering the market from adjacent parking areas. 

Q. Can I petition outside of the GFM?

A. Yes. You can petition in designated areas outside the market area or across the street if you do not block the sidewalk, handicap ramps, market entrances, or parking lot entrances. Please see the Petition Map below.

  1. If you are setting up a table, it cannot block the sidewalk and must be locked in a gravel area.
  2. Setting up a tent on public sidewalks is prohibited.
  3. There is no schedule or sign-up sheet to petition at the GFM at this time. It is first-come-first-serve.
  4. If the sidewalk becomes overwhelmed due to too many petitioners, the GFM Staff will ask everyone to disperse.

Q. Do the GFM rules violate my constitutional right to petition?

A. No. GFM established these reasonable rules under the guidelines for public events and pedestrian safety:

  1. The market offers a designated area for petitioning.
  2. These rules are necessary to ensure the orderly movement of people to and from the parking areas and within the market area.
  3. The market does not permit other kinds of activity that may obstruct pedestrian traffic, such as the sale or giveaway of items, flyers, or information by standing or walking within the customer’s walking areas. All venting within the market must be done by approved, licensed, and insured vendors in their designated booths.

Gilbert Farmers Market Area Map

Information is sourced from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Petitioning during a festival, fair, or farmers’ market:

  1. You may seek petition signatures from people coming to or leaving the festival by standing on public sidewalks and streets closed to traffic and in public parks outside the area reserved for the public event. (5)
  2. Petitioning within the inner perimeter of an event depends on several factors. If the organizers allow for petitioning throughout the fair, then you are free to petition where you wish. Several festivals and fairs have a designated area for non-profit organizations where you may petition – although some may require you to rent or reserve a booth in advance.
  3. Even though an event occurs on public streets, sidewalks, or on public land, organizers may restrict you from petitioning in the area reserved for the event under certain circumstances. For example, the event organizers may establish rules to prevent you from wandering the fairgrounds to seek signatures when:
    1. You can petition from a booth or table in a designated area.
    2. The event is only open to those who pay an admission fee.
    3. The rule is necessary to ensure the orderly movement of people in crowded areas.
    4. The organizers don’t allow people to engage in other kinds of activity that would obstruct pedestrian traffic flow. (6)
  4. However, if a festival in a downtown area is open to regular pedestrian traffic and street vendors are permitted to set up tables on sidewalks within the fair’s perimeter, you can petition on the public sidewalks. (7)

GENERAL TIPS 

  • Before petitioning in a city, town, or park, check its website to see whether there are ordinances or rules. 
  • Before petitioning at an event – e.g., a festival, a fair, or a farmers’ market – you may wish to seek permission to do so. 
  • If you have any questions, consult with a lawyer.

References:

(1) These F.A.Q.s summarize sometimes complex constitutional principles and should not be relied upon as legal advice. You may seek a lawyer’s advice for a specific question or problem. 

(2) Meyer v. Grant, 486 U.S. 414, 421-22, 425 (1988) (striking down a ban on paying petition circulators and noting that “the circulation of a petition involves the type of interactive communication concerning political change that is appropriately described as core political speech” in which “the importance of First Amendment protections is at its zenith.”); see also Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc., 525 U.S. 182, 186-87 (1999) (striking down a statute requiring petition circulators to be registered voters and wear a badge bearing their name and that petition organizers report all paid circulators’ names, addresses, and amount paid to them). 

(3) Hague v. C.I.O., 307 U.S. 496, 515-16 (1939); American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee v. Dearborn, 418 F.3d 600, 605 (6th Cir. 2005) (quoting Hague). 

(4) As the Supreme Court stated in striking down a permit requirement for door-to-door canvassers, “It is offensive – not only to the values protected by the First Amendment but to the very notion of a free society – that in the context of everyday public discourse, a citizen must first inform the government of her desire to speak to her neighbors and then obtain a permit to do so.” Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Village of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150, 165-66 (2002). 

(5) Saieg v. City of Dearborn, 641 F.3d 727, 738-40 (6th Cir. 2011) (Pastor had First Amendment right to distribute flyers outside the inner perimeter of the Arab International Festival held in the streets of Dearborn). 

(6) Heffron v. Int’l Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness, 452 U.S. 640 (1981) (Minnesota State Fair officials did not violate constitutional rights of members of religious society by barring them from soliciting donations and selling religious literature in places other than the booths designated for non-profit organizations). 

(7) Saieg, 641 F.3d at 736-38 (a fact that Dearborn allowed street vendors to set up booths on sidewalks belied the significance of its claimed interest in crowd control and keeping sidewalks clear).