The city of San Diego’s ban on yoga classes in public parks and beaches was ruled unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal appeals court that found such classes are protected by the First Amendment.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling states city officials had not shown any “plausible connection between plaintiffs teaching yoga and any threat to public safety and enjoyment in the city’s shoreline parks.”
A federal appeals court ruled that the city’s controversial ban is unconstitutional, reports NBC 7’s Shelby Bremer.
The crackdown on the classes stemmed from an amended ordinance concerning street vendors that also prohibited other types of commercial activity without a permit, such as yoga classes attended by four or more people.
The city’s ban was challenged in a federal lawsuit filed by yoga instructors Steven Hubbard and Amy Baack, who contended the city’s enforcement on such gatherings violated their First Amendment rights.
While a federal judge ruled in the city’s favor, the 9th Circuit panel wrote, “Teaching yoga is protected speech” and that “because the ordinance targets teaching yoga, it plainly implicates Hubbard and Baack’s First Amendment right to speak.”
