SAN JOSE, Calif., May 1 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that gang colors are not protected free speech, upholding a California garlic festival's decision to bar a motorcycle club.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel in San Jose rejected claims by the Top Hatters Motorcycle Club, The San Jose Mercury News reported Tuesday.
"In this case, the plaintiffs' act of wearing their vests adorned with a common insignia simply does not amount to the sort of expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of speech," the judges said in their opinion.
Garlic Festival organizers in Gilroy, Calif., barred the Top Hatters from wearing their insignia to the 2000 festival, ordering them to leave when they showed up. The club sued, claiming a violation of constitutional rights, and lost in a lower court in 2005.
