Cite as: 512 U. S. 43 (1994)
O'Connor, J., concurring
without harm to the First Amendment rights of its citizens. As currently framed, however, the ordinance abridges those rights.
Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Affirmed.
Justice O'Connor, concurring.
It is unusual for us, when faced with a regulation that on its face draws content distinctions, to "assume, arguendo, the validity of the City's submission that the various exemptions are free of impermissible content or viewpoint discrimination." Ante, at 53. With rare exceptions, content discrimination in regulations of the speech of private citizens on private property or in a traditional public forum is presumptively impermissible, and this presumption is a very strong one. Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of N. Y. State Crime Victims Bd., 502 U. S. 105, 115-116 (1991). The normal inquiry that our doctrine dictates is, first, to determine whether a regulation is content based or content neutral, and then, based on the answer to that question, to apply the proper level of scrutiny. See, e. g., Burson v. Freeman, 504 U. S. 191, 197-198 (1992) (plurality opinion); Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, 505 U. S. 123, 133-135 (1992); Simon & Schuster, supra, at 115-116; Boos v. Barry, 485 U. S. 312, 318-321 (1988) (plurality opinion); Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland, 481 U. S. 221, 229-231 (1987); Carey v. Brown, 447 U. S. 455, 461-463 (1980); Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U. S. 92, 95, 98-99 (1972).
Over the years, some cogent criticisms have been leveled at our approach. See, e. g., R. A. V. v. St. Paul, 505 U. S. 377, 420-422 (1992) (Stevens, J., concurring in judgment); Consolidated Edison Co. of N. Y. v. Public Serv. Comm'n of N. Y., 447 U. S. 530, 544-548 (1980) (Stevens, J., concurring in judgment); Farber, Content Regulation and the First Amendment: A Revisionist View, 68 Geo. L. J. 727 (1980);
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