Black v. Luckey

The ACLU of MS and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit challenging the State of Mississippi's Safe Solicitation Act. The MS Legislature passed the Act in 2025. It prevents people in need from exercising their First Amendment rights to engage in charitable solicitation without first requesting permission from the government to speak and paying the government to exercise their First Amendment rights.

The plaintiffs are three homeless residents of Jackson, MS who hold signs on public streets and sidewalks soliciting help to meet their personal needs. They face citation, arrest, criminal prosecution, and orders to move along for holding signs such as "hungry," "homeless," or "anything help" without first getting permission to speak and paying the government. Through this lawsuit, we challenge the Safe Solicitation Act on its face and as applied under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.