Apparently its illegal to talk to strangers in a CA mall

[snow]

Little girl: "Please sir, I can't find my mommy."



Suited Man: "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to fill out these forms."

Little Girl: "But I don't know how to write, I'm just looking for my mommy."

Suited Man: "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store Ma'am."

Little Girl: "What!?"

Suited Man: "Please leave the store..."

I can understand a privately owned business putting up a rule stating that you should not bother other customers, but a ban on talking all together? Not only is that going to be pretty hard to enforce, but who's to say who do and do not know each other in a store?

 

[Nemorac]

After reading all these posts, and weighing what the store did compared with the various relative responses of the people here and my own knowledge, I have come to a conclusion.

If the mall wanted to enact some sort of enforcement on people talking to people they do not know, something that could be done could be something as thus:

If one is coming there for a religious purpose (such as talking about the Bible), one can fill out some form allowing them to do so within the establishment from time X to time Y. For the more general public, if someone felt they were uncomfortable because of a total stranger talking to them for whatever reason, mall security could be notified and the person be issued either a warning or be asked to leave the premises. Should they refuse or multiple complaints made, they could be evicted.

While admittedly not a perfect solution (and really, in today's society, what solution for social interaction dilemmas is?), it would cut down on the BS that is apparently currently there at that mall.

 

[lee1287]

don't try to pick girls up there?

I somewhat doubt the priest was trying to pick up chicks =P

You're right, Boys then... Don't ban me for this!

 

[Slaanax]

Right now all I see is a Hanar walking around the mall!

 

[WolfThomas]

ok lets see how would this play out with me hmm.. I know i would first ask the guard to not touch me then if they insisted on trying to arrest me i would then beat the liveing crap out of them then sue them for asault

Sure you (would), and I'm going apple picking with Scooby Doo. Toi, toi, toi, toi, toi, toi, to

 

[The Geek Lord]

Judges on the 3rd District Court of Appeal last week ruled that the Westfield Galleria in Roseville's ban on a visitor "approaching patrons with whom he or she was not previously acquainted for the purpose of communicating with them on a topic unrelated to the business interests [of the mall and its tenants]" was, on the face of it, unconstitutional.

... What. The. Fuck?

Fuck you, Ayn Raynd, just fuck you. This is your fault. It always is. Why couldn't you die before your fucked everything up.

 

[ecoho]

ok lets see how would this play out with me hmm.. I know i would first ask the guard to not touch me then if they insisted on trying to arrest me i would then beat the liveing crap out of them then sue them for asault

Sure you (would), and I'm going apple picking with Scooby Doo. Toi, toi, toi, toi, toi, toi, to

dont insault me by thinking i wouldn't do exactly what i said. In fact i have been required to punch a mall cop due to him being an idiot, guess what happend? He got fired i got $200 and a congraduations from the cops they have no right to even touch you if they think youve done something wrong they are required by law to call the police to deal with you. At least thats how it works in the US not sure about anywere else.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

It's CALIFORNIA. What do you expect?

 

[ElTigreSantiago]

Well that is rather insane. I love talking to random people. How often do you get bothered at the mall anyway? Some people really need to suck it up and be more social.

 

[RangerSERE]

Whats to discuss exactly? It will be over turned in a higher courtroom and the appeals process will begin etc etc, sooner or later no one will care.

As for you straining to find a topic to get as much attention on some website...i give it a B+ for effort.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Whats to discuss exactly? It will be over turned in a higher courtroom and the appeals process will begin etc etc, sooner or later no one will care.

As for you straining to find a topic to get as much attention on some website...i give it a B+ for effort.

Theres plenty to discuss, the religion aspect, the fact that the women he was speaking to WANTED to talk about it. The fac he was manhandled by security in spite of no one involved objecting to it, and the local police force being such idiots to actually arrest him and not give the mall a warning for wasting police time.

 

[Gilhelmi]

Whats to discuss exactly? It will be over turned in a higher courtroom and the appeals process will begin etc etc, sooner or later no one will care.

As for you straining to find a topic to get as much attention on some website...i give it a B+ for effort.

Theres plenty to discuss, the religion aspect, the fact that the women he was speaking to WANTED to talk about it. The fac he was manhandled by security in spite of no one involved objecting to it, and the local police force being such idiots to actually arrest him and not give the mall a warning for wasting police time.

I agree, I see millions of dollars in that priests future.

On the surface, the Rule (not a law) is unconstitutional, that is obvious just by reading the constitution (if you do not live in the US read it, the constitution protects us from religious persecution (most of the time)). The mall cops actually committed a crime by touching the priest (I forget, either assault or battery). No court in the country can say the rule is constitutional, and if they do it would set back our legal justice system by literally 234 years. So, essentially the mall is wasting their time and the courts time by appealing.

Also, to those who only see the religious aspect of this, replace priest with yourself and replace the religious discussion with your favorite topic and you can see how you would also be in this situation.

 

[Plurralbles]

"approaching patrons with whom he or she was not previously acquainted for the purpose of communicating with them on a topic unrelated to the business interests [of the mall and its tenants]"

you can ask where the bathroom is, you can ask where a store is... Nope, nothing that I can stand against.


a youth pastor who had gone there to spread the good news to strangers, the Sacramento Bee reports.

That is a good thing to ban. Spreading ideologies at a shopping place is a fucking stupid idea. I have hte right to say, "Fuck you" and the people I'm buying shit from agree and save me the trouble with this ban. I love it.

It shold be a report from the person being bothered though by it. Not police just barging in and being asses. That I can vehemently abhor.

 

[tokyodove]

Well, Orwell is most likely in tears in his grave.

next they'll be putting up telescreens and accusing us of thoughtcrime

 

[Gilhelmi]

Well, Orwell is most likely in tears in his grave.

next they'll be putting up telescreens and accusing us of thoughtcrime

Do not forget dousing every book in kerosene and calling the 'firedepartment' to light the books up. (cookie if you know the reference)

 

[smudgey]

If they want to ban preachers, then just make a rule saying "No preaching!". This goes way to far, and doesn't even make sense! I mean, do you fill out an application to be able to talk to strangers in general, or do you have to specify the exact individuals? If it's the former, then how many people can you talk to, and for how long? If it's the latter, how are you supposed to know the name of a stranger to put on a form just to ask them if they know the score of a sports game?

 

[Cynical skeptic]

... I actually don't see whats wrong with that.

I sure as shit don't want someone to come up to me and start talking about a completely random subject while I'm trying to buy pants or something. I don't care about your band, your cock, your tits, your political or religious beliefs. Go away, let me shop, "are these on special?"

Its just a way to say, "stop talking to me or I'll have you arrested." But if you don't care, its not like a cop is going to drop out the ceiling and arrest someone for making welcome advances or engaging in interesting conversation.

... I'd actually fucking love that. brb, moving to CA.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

If they don't want people to proselytize in their mall they need to make that clear.

Amend the signs out front to read;

Conditions of entry:

You must wear shoes.
You must wear a shirt.
You must not talk.

 

[theSovietConnection]

Well, Orwell is most likely in tears in his grave.

Are you kidding? If we wrap his coffin in copper wire and replace his headstone with a magnet, maybe laws like this will make him spin and generate free electricity!

Anyways, I think this is a tad... extreme. Though it would stop Scouts from bothering me to buy cookies or ribbons or whatever while I'm there...

 

[Gerhardt]

After reading this over a couple times, it does seem to me that the article was written out of context. From what I can gather, it feels more like this isn't about a 'no speaking to strangers', but a 'don't solicit your church without a permit.'

There really is no honest way that a mall could ever enforce such a policy and not end up going out of business. A mall is a social spot, a place people go for entertainment, and that may include *gasp* social interaction with others.

On the other hand, it's not all that uncommon for a commercial business no have a "no solicitation" policy, unless it's approved beforehand. I'd be willing to bet that the latter occurred, that the priest was seen to be soliciting mall patrons to his church/faith/make believe nonsense and got booted out the door for it.

Plus the ridiculous list of charges the priest came back with are nothing short of money-grubbing insane. Assault and battery? Really? You were escorted out to the police in cuffs, you beaten half to death.

Speaking as a Security Officer myself (not a mall cop though) its a job that does require some level of professionalism. Sure, you get the cranky buzz-kill types who like to piss on everyone's parade, but there are also times when they are there for a reason. Such as carrying a belligerent priest out the front door.

I'm guess it was a slow news day and the article "Preacher escorted out of mall" didn't have enough kick to it, but "illegal to talk to strangers in mall" sounds like it would turn more heads.