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Tour Guides Increase Their Pressure On City
By Jenny DeHuff, The Bulletin
Philadelphia — The Ben Franklin impersonators, Betsy Ross posers and equine carriage drivers who lead groups of tourists around the city may have their freedom of speech jeopardized if the outcome of a pending lawsuit does not favor them.
Last year, the city passed a law making it illegal for tour guides to give tours without first passing an equivalency test, obtaining a city-issued license and safeguarding their business with $1 million in liability insurance.
And for many tour guides, the threat of business loss or suspension is a real one.
Michael Tait, a tour guide with Constitutional Walking Tours, a privately owned company in the city, said government officials drafted the legislation to combat instances of tour guides giving false information to people.
“The city feels it has the right to control who can and who can’t speak,” he told The Bulletin.
Mr. Tait and a collaborative of Philadelphia tour guides are the first to challenge the law. They argue Philadelphia’s new tour guide law is a direct assault on two constitutional rights — by attempting to make it illegal to speak freely and the right to earn an honest living.
“If you look the way they write it they imply its illegal to have historic discourse in Center City,” said Mr. Tait.
The tour guides were victorious, however, in securing an injunction on the law until the end of the trial, which some guides say is the saving grace for their business.
But individuals like Mr. Tait who make their living off telling visitors about the city’s history, culture and architecture, might have to consider reviewing their notes to appease the city.
Mr. Tait said a knowledge or equivalency test would cost the city $20,000.
According to Mr. Tait, New York City and Washington, D.C. currently have tour guide laws in place to deter unqualified outsiders from seeking jobs in the industry. But Philadelphia’s mandate would have exceptions — like Ride The Ducks and Philadelphia Trolley Works would be exempt.
At-large City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown is reported to be in support of the regulation. Mr. Tait said, after taking a tour with a guide last year, she was disappointed to hear no African-American history in his rhetoric.
Robert McNamara is leading attorney at the Institute for Justice, which handles cases protecting the First Amendment, property rights, economic liberties and other individual liberties in both federal and state courts.
Mr. McNamara said, once the city gets in the business of dictating who can and cannot speak to visitors, people should be worried.
“Anyone can be subject to a fine of $300,” he said.
According to Mr. McNamara, the city’s side of the story is that some tour guides mislead visitors, misconstrue accounts of history and blatantly give false information.
“Brochures, newspapers and stand-up comedians say things that are wrong, but we don’t respond to that by making it illegal to talk,” he said.
“It’s really an outrageous law. The overarching source of the outrage is the principal of the thing. Government should not be trampling on our most closely held rights.”
Mr. McNamara calls it a double standard — not required of other businesses in the city.
“I think what you’ll find from most of these private tour companies is that accuracy and quality is their lifeblood,” he said.
“There are all sorts of people who talk about history for a living, [such as] historical re-enactors, history book writers. We’d all be rightly appalled if [government] announced those people required a license to do so.”
Neither City Representative Melanie Johnson nor the councilwoman could be reached for comment at press time.
A trial date has yet to be scheduled.
Jenny DeHuff can be reached at jdehuff@thebulletin.us
Last year, the city passed a law making it illegal for tour guides to give tours without first passing an equivalency test, obtaining a city-issued license and safeguarding their business with $1 million in liability insurance.
And for many tour guides, the threat of business loss or suspension is a real one.
Michael Tait, a tour guide with Constitutional Walking Tours, a privately owned company in the city, said government officials drafted the legislation to combat instances of tour guides giving false information to people.
“The city feels it has the right to control who can and who can’t speak,” he told The Bulletin.
Mr. Tait and a collaborative of Philadelphia tour guides are the first to challenge the law. They argue Philadelphia’s new tour guide law is a direct assault on two constitutional rights — by attempting to make it illegal to speak freely and the right to earn an honest living.
“If you look the way they write it they imply its illegal to have historic discourse in Center City,” said Mr. Tait.
The tour guides were victorious, however, in securing an injunction on the law until the end of the trial, which some guides say is the saving grace for their business.
But individuals like Mr. Tait who make their living off telling visitors about the city’s history, culture and architecture, might have to consider reviewing their notes to appease the city.
Mr. Tait said a knowledge or equivalency test would cost the city $20,000.
According to Mr. Tait, New York City and Washington, D.C. currently have tour guide laws in place to deter unqualified outsiders from seeking jobs in the industry. But Philadelphia’s mandate would have exceptions — like Ride The Ducks and Philadelphia Trolley Works would be exempt.
At-large City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown is reported to be in support of the regulation. Mr. Tait said, after taking a tour with a guide last year, she was disappointed to hear no African-American history in his rhetoric.
Robert McNamara is leading attorney at the Institute for Justice, which handles cases protecting the First Amendment, property rights, economic liberties and other individual liberties in both federal and state courts.
Mr. McNamara said, once the city gets in the business of dictating who can and cannot speak to visitors, people should be worried.
“Anyone can be subject to a fine of $300,” he said.
According to Mr. McNamara, the city’s side of the story is that some tour guides mislead visitors, misconstrue accounts of history and blatantly give false information.
“Brochures, newspapers and stand-up comedians say things that are wrong, but we don’t respond to that by making it illegal to talk,” he said.
“It’s really an outrageous law. The overarching source of the outrage is the principal of the thing. Government should not be trampling on our most closely held rights.”
Mr. McNamara calls it a double standard — not required of other businesses in the city.
“I think what you’ll find from most of these private tour companies is that accuracy and quality is their lifeblood,” he said.
“There are all sorts of people who talk about history for a living, [such as] historical re-enactors, history book writers. We’d all be rightly appalled if [government] announced those people required a license to do so.”
Neither City Representative Melanie Johnson nor the councilwoman could be reached for comment at press time.
A trial date has yet to be scheduled.
Jenny DeHuff can be reached at jdehuff@thebulletin.us
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PhilMB wrote on Mar 10, 2009 7:46 PM: