Billups v. City of Charleston, No. 19-1044 (4th Cir. 2020)
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Plaintiffs filed suit challenging Charleston's Tour Guide Licensing Ordinance, which requires that a prospective tour guide must obtain a license by passing a 200 question written examination on the city's history, architecture, and historic preservation efforts. The district court declared the Ordinance unconstitutional.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed and held that, although the city has a significant interest in protecting its tourism industry, the Ordinance failed intermediate scrutiny because it is not narrowly tailored to serve the city's interest. Because the city failed to provide evidence that it attempted to use less intrusive tools readily available to it or that it ever seriously considered different methods that other jurisdictions have found effective, the court held that the city has not established that the Ordinance is narrowly tailored. Therefore, the district court correctly declared the Ordinance unconstitutional.
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