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The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia Applauds the Institute for Justice for Challenging the Constitutionality of Philadelphia's New Tour Guide Licensing Law
PHILADELPHIA-(Business Wire)-July 2, 2008 - The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia today applauded the filing of a lawsuit in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania challenging the City of Philadelphia's new tour guide licensing law as a violation of tour guides' fundamental Constitutional rights.
As America's Birthplace and the city where the Constitution of the United States was drafted, debated and signed, Philadelphia provides an authentic visitor experience for those who want to step back in time and walk in the footsteps of the Founding Fathers who risked their lives for the cause of American freedom. The best way of preserving and honoring that sense of authenticity is to honor the Rule of Law with the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution allows for free speech without having to get a license from the government.
According to Anthony Kennedy, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, "The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech."
"We absolutely agree with the importance of Philadelphia's tour guides providing accurate and authentic tours," stated Jonathan Bari, President of The Constitutional Walking Tour. "To that end, The Constitutional Walking Tour invests considerable resources in our privately funded "Independence Immersion" training program to provide what we feel is Philadelphia's best sightseeing experience of Historic Philadelphia hosted by Philadelphia's best tour guides."
On May 10, 2007, principals of The Constitutional Walking Tour testified at Philadelphia City Council hearings against the then-pending tour guide licensing legislation. At that time, The Constitutional Walking Tour suggested various ways in which the City of Philadelphia could legally attain its goals of improving the tourism industry with regard to the accuracy and integrity of content imparted to visitors by tour guides. Specifically, The Constitutional presented additional points of consideration and practical industry solutions to improve tour based content with no legislation or modified legislation. One such way would be with implementing a voluntary program that would provide a badge to those tour guides who voluntarily took this city funded program. For a detailed copy of The Constitutional Walking Tour's testimony to Philadelphia City Council on May 10, 2007, visit www.TheConstitutional.com/licensing.
A Certified Copy of the Tour Guide Licensing Bill, Number 080024-A, passed by Philadelphia City Council on April 3, 2008, and signed by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter on April 16, 2008, can be found here,.
http://webapps.phila.gov/council/attachments/5141.pdf
About The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia
The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia is one of the leading providers of sightseeing tours of America's Birthplace - "Where Every Day is Independence Day!"(TM) Located in Historic Philadelphia, The Constitutional visits more than 20 of the most historical sites on a 75 minute, 1.25 mile outdoor adventure in the Independence National Historical Park area, which is home to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center. The Constitutional guides visitors on a walk through history where The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were created. Since 2004, The Constitutional has been consistently ranked as one of Philadelphia's "Top 25 Tourist Attractions" by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Come see why the Chicago Tribune stated, "No visit to Philadelphia is complete without taking a Constitutional Guided Walking Tour, a 75-minute, mile and a quarter stroll that puts 15 historic sites, from Independence Hall to the National Constitution Center, and Ben Franklin, in perspective." For more information on The Constitutional's various tours, please visit www.TheConstitutional.com. The Constitutional is also the producer of the Spirits of '76 Ghost Tour of Philadelphia which is "1 Part History, 2 Parts Haunt."(TM) The Spirits of '76 Ghost Tour features more than 20 of "Philly's Frights & Sights"(TM) on a 75 minute, 1.25 mile outdoor walking tour through Historic Philadelphia that features haunted facts and folklore. For more information, please see www.Spiritsof76.com.
EDITOR'S NOTES - For media, please visit The Constitutional's various online resources:
— High-resolution Photographs of Historic Philadelphia are available for media usage at:
www.TheConstitutional.com/images.
— Story Ideas on The Constitutional Walking Tour, Historic Philadelphia and Heritage Tourism are available for media usage at:
www.TheConstitutional.com/StoryIdeas.
— By the Numbers statistics on The Constitutional Walking Tour and Historic Philadelphia are available for media usage at:
www.TheConstitutional.com/numbers.
— Audio File Sample of The Constitutional Audio Tour is available for media usage at:
www.PhillyMP3.com/sample.
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