SAN FERNANDO : ACLU Drops Suit Over Ban on Gangs

The American Civil Liberties Union has dropped its constitutional challenge to a San Fernando ordinance banning gang members from a city park, saying the law’s expiration last month has made the issue moot.

But an ACLU attorney said Monday that the organization would not hesitate to renew its lawsuit opposing the law if it is reinstated, an option San Fernando officials said they will exercise if the need arises.

“If we need to, it is just a question of seconds before we reinstitute the ban,” City Councilman Doude Wysbeek said.

The ordinance, which gained nationwide attention, was prompted by the July, 1991, shooting of a woman and her three small children as they walked along the edge of Las Palmas Park. It banned all known gang members from the park and fined violators up to $250.

Within weeks, city officials and neighbors declared it an unqualified success, but the ACLU challenged the constitutionality of the law, saying it violated the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly.

Paul Hoffman of the ACLU said the challenge was dropped because the law was allowed to expire June 30.

“We saw no purpose for an injunctive case once the ordinance had expired,” he said. “As far as we can see, the ordinance was just a publicity stunt to begin with. It was never really enforced.”

Hoffman said the ACLU is still considering challenges to similar ordinances adopted by Pomona and Bell Gardens.

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, whose office helped draft the ordinance, said the ACLU’s abandonment of the case indicates “they realized they were wrong.”