SAN DIEGO (AP) — An appellate court has ruled that SeaWorld was within its right to bar protesters from an area near the entrance of the theme park.
U-T San Diego reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/1JmBkKf ) that a three-judge panel ruled this week that the San Diego theme park did not violate the right to free speech when it removed demonstrators from there in 2007.
SeaWorld operates under a city lease on what is public parkland. San Diego Animal Advocates protesting the park's treatment of animals argued they had the right to demonstrate there.
Judge Judith McConnell said in her written ruling that for an area on private property to be considered for a public forum it must induce patrons to congregate there and not be merely a place to walk through from a parking area.
