GG Bridge violating protesters' rights, judge says

(01-13) 17:59 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- The Golden Gate Bridge District is violating demonstrators' rights by requiring small groups to obtain permits to use the walkway, banning bullhorns and handle-held signs, and barring protests after 2 p.m. on weekends, a federal judge has ruled.

The rules prevent spontaneous demonstrations, make other protests much harder to see or hear, and do little to promote traffic safety, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel said in a Jan. 7 ruling.

Bridge officials presented no evidence that "an individual or a small group with a sign amidst the multitude on the bridge's sidewalks realistically presents a serious threat to traffic and safety," Patel said.

The regulations have been in effect since at least the mid-1990s. They require organizers of political demonstrations on the bridge walkway to apply to the district for a permit at least four business days in advance if they plan to carry hand-held signs.

The rules prohibit signs on handles or poles and sound-amplification equipment. They also forbid weekday demonstrations between 6 and 10 a.m. and between 2 and 7 p.m., and protests after 2 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Two Bay Area activists filed suit challenging all the provisions except the limits on weekday protest hours. Patel's ruling, if it stands, would overturn the weekend and holiday hour restrictions and the other curbs on groups smaller than 50. It would not affect larger groups.

"This is a victory for free speech, for spontaneous speech and for the right to protest," Ajay Krishnan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Thursday.

Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, said officials haven't decided whether to appeal.

One plaintiff, Derek Turner, said he went to the bridge during the Olympic Torch Relay in April 2008 with a sign protesting China's policy in Darfur, Sudan, unaware that he needed a permit, and California Highway Patrol officers grabbed him and seized the sign.

Co-plaintiff Toby Blome challenged the restrictions on monthly protests she organizes at the bridge for the anti-war group Code Pink.

Lawyers for the bridge district argued that the rules don't significantly limit political speech because protesters need no permit to gather elsewhere in San Francisco. But Patel said the Golden Gate Bridge is "a unique locale that commands a worldwide audience."

Drivers are just as likely to be distracted by sidewalk musicians, who don't need permits, or even by windblown hats or shopping bags as by protest signs, Patel said.

Without mounted signs or bullhorns, the judge said, "a single speaker's message may be easily drowned out."

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle