Tour Guides Challenge Philly Law Requiring History Test
Tour guides in Philadelphia are challenging a city law that requires them to answer at least 65 percent of the questions correctly on a history test.
The law is an economic regulation designed to prevent “a great proliferation of misinformation,” the city argues in legal briefs, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). Just as the city requires librarians to meet certain qualifications, it can also make sure guides are “capable of knowing something about what they are selling,” the brief says.
An advocate of the law, tour guide Ron Avery, says he has taken tours and observed guides telling some whoppers, such as an assertion that Ben Franklin had 80 illegitimate children. “Maybe 50 percent of the tour guides didn’t know what the hell they were talking about,” he told the newspaper.
Tour guides opposing the law say it infringes their freedom of speech. The libertarian Institute for Justice represents the plaintiffs. Lawyer Robert McNamara summarized his argument for the Wall Street Journal this way: “Government can’t make sure you understand the Constitution before it has to abide by it.”
A judge has enjoined enforcement of the law and scheduled a trial for April 7, the story says.
