Prohibiting "Gang" Colors in Public Unconstitional, rules Saskatoon Judge

Off the Wire News
Biker Rights Issues By Jason Warick, Saskatchewan News Network
A law that prohibited gang members from wearing their colours in bars and other licensed establishments has been declared unconstitutional by a Saskatoon judge.
“The benefits of the legislation, in its present form, are minimal while the deleterious effects on freedom of expression are so far reaching as to outweigh the benefits,” Judge Albert Lavoie said in his 33-page decision, issued Thursday in Saskatoon provincial court.
As a result, charges were dropped Thursday against Hells Angels member Jesse Leigh Bitz. Bitz declined comment but his lawyer, Mark Brayford, said they’re pleased with the decision.
“We don’t see this legislation as useful to society,” Brayford told reporters.
“This (law) does nothing to protect us from crime and it certainly infringes on our freedoms.”
Bitz was charged under a provincial law for wearing Hells Angels clothing in Ryly’s Canadian Bar and Grill in August 2007. Lavoie said the law infringes on Bitz’s right to freedom of expression and declared Section 60.1 of the Safer Communities and Neighborhoods Act to be unconstitutional in this case.
Brayford said in his opinion, the Saskatoon Hells Angels chapter is not a criminal organization. It is autonomous and cannot be linked to activity in other chapters. Brayford noted a “negligible” number of arrests and convictions have been registered against people who happen to be Hells Angels “club” members in Saskatoon.
Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa said the decision came as a surprise. Since Lavoie has called the law unconstitutional, Saskatchewan prosecutors won’t recommend charges in any similar cases for now, she said. The Crown has 30 days to decide whether to appeal, to recommend a rewrite of the law or to leave things as they are.
“What we’re trying to do is keep gang colours out of bars. I think that’s pretty easily understood, very straightforward. I don’t think the legislation encompasses anything beyond that,” Kujawa said.
A hearing for similar charges against several other people has been adjourned until Jan. 11.
Section 60.1 of the Safer Communities Act was added in November 2005. Then-justice minister Frank Quennell said it was needed to “assist policing agencies with addressing all aspects of the problems which we are facing with gangs and organized crime.” A first offence carried a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Links to original articles on this story:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/Prohibiting+gang+colours+public+unconstitutional+rules+Saskatoon+judge/2353037/story.html