notice that his reentry was primibited s implausible, since the bar letter fid not indicate that it applied my when public access to Hickam was restricted, and any incertainty he had in this regari might have been eliminated had he sought, in accord with the bar letter, permission to reenter from the commanding ficer. Pp. 179–484.

2 The Court of Appeals erred in holding that the First Amendment bars respondent's conviction for violating § 1382 by his reentry during the open house. Flower a United States, WT C. S. 197, fistinguished. A military base generally is not a public forum, and Eckam did not become a public forum merely because the base was used to communicate ideas or information furing the open house. Moreover, regardless of whether Hickam constituted a public forum on the day of the open house, respondent's exclusion fid not viciate the First Amendment. The fact that respondent had previously received a valid bar letter distinguished him from the general public and provided a reasonable ground for exduding him from the base. Nor does the general exclusion of recipients of bar letters from military open houses violate the First Amendment on the asserted ground that such exclusion is greater than is essential to the furtherance of Government interests in the security of military installations. Exclusion of heiders of bar letters in such circumstances promotes an important Government interest in assuring the security of military installations. Nothing in the First Amendment requires military commanders to wait until persons subject to a valid bar order have entered a military base to see if they will conduct themselves properly during an open house. Pp. 684–690.

3. Since the Court of Appeals did not address whether, on the facts of this case, application of the 1972 bar letter to respondent was so patently arbitrary as to violate due process, this Court does not decide that issue. P. 690.

710 F. 2d 1410, reversed and remanded.

O'CONNOR, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C. J., and WHITE, BLACKMUN, POWELL, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BRENNAN and MARSHALL, JJ., joined, post, p. 691.

David A. Strauss argued the cause for the United States. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Lee, Assistant Attorney General Trott, Deputy Solicitor General Wallace, John F. De Pue, and Major Robert T. Lee.

Charles S. Sims argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Burt Neuborne, William A. Harrison, and Yvonne Chotzen.

675

Opinion of the Court

JUSTICE O'CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.

The question presented is whether respondent may be convicted for violating 18 U. S. C. § 1382, which makes it unlawful to reenter a military base after having been barred by the commanding officer. Respondent attended an open house at a military base some nine years after the commanding officer ordered him not to reenter without written permission. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that respondent could not be convicted for violating § 1382 because he had a First Amendment right to enter the military base during the open house. 710 F. 2d 1410 (1983). We granted certiorari, 469 U. S. 1071 (1984), and we now reverse.

I

The events underlying this case date from 1972, when respondent and a companion entered Hickam Air Force Base (Hickam) in Hawaii ostensibly to present a letter to the commanding officer. Instead, they obtained access to secret Air Force documents and destroyed the documents by pouring animal blood on them. For these acts, respondent was convicted of conspiracy to injure Government property in violation of 18 U. S. C. §§371, 1361. Respondent also received a "bar letter" from the Commander of Hickam informing him that he was forbidden to "reenter the confines of this installation without the written permission of the Commander or an officer designated by him to issue a permit of reentry." App. 43; cf. Greer v. Spock, 424 U. S. 828, 838 (1976). The bar letter directed respondent to 18 U. S. C. § 1382 and quoted the statute, which provides:

"Whoever, within the jurisdiction of the United States, goes upon any military, naval, or Coast Guard Reservation, post, fort, arsenal, yard, station, or installation, for any purpose prohibited by law or lawful regulation; or

"Whoever reenters or is found within any such reservation, post, fort, arsenal, yard, station, or installa

tion, after having been removed therefrom or ordered not to reenter by any officer in command or charge thereof

"Shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

In subsequent years, respondent, according to his own testimony, received bar letters from a number of military bases in Hawaii. App. 30. In March 1981, he and eight companions improperly entered the Nuclear War Policy and Plans Office at Camp Smith in Hawaii and defaced Government property. Ibid. Respondent testified that he was not prosecuted for what he termed his "rather serious clear-cut case" of civil disobedience at Camp Smith, ibid., and that the 1972 bar letter was the only one he had ever received for Hickam. Id., at 28, 30.

Respondent entered Hickam again on May 16, 1981, during the base's annual open house for Armed Forces Day. On that day, members of the public, who ordinarily can enter Hickam only with permission, are allowed to enter portions of the base to view displays of aircraft and other military equipment and to enjoy entertainment provided by military and nonmilitary performers. Press releases issued by the base declared that "[w]hile Hickam is normally a closed base, the gates will be open to the public for this 32nd Annual Armed Forces Day Open House." Id., at 45. Radio announcements similarly proclaimed that "the public is invited and it's all free." Id., at 48.

With four friends, respondent attended the open house in order to engage in a peaceful demonstration criticizing the nuclear arms race. Id., at 27-28. His companions gathered in front of a B-52 bomber display, unfurled a banner reading "Carnival of Death," and passed out leaflets. Respondent took photographs of the displays and did not disrupt the activities of the open house. The Commander of Hickam summoned Major Jones, the Chief of Security Police at the

base, and told him to have the individuals cease their demonstration. Id., at 9. Before respondent was approached by military police, the Commander further informed Major Jones that he believed one of the individuals involved in the demonstration had been barred from Hickam. Id., at 9-10, 13-14. Respondent and his companions were apprehended and escorted off the base.

An information filed on July 1, 1981, charged respondent with violating § 1382 because on May 16, 1981, he "unlawfully and knowingly" reentered Hickam Air Force Base “after [he] had previously been ordered not to reenter by an officer in command." Id., at 3. Respondent was convicted after a bench trial and sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Id., at 1. On appeal, respondent challenged his conviction on three grounds. 710 F. 2d, at 1413. First, he argued that he had written permission to reenter based on the advertisements inviting the public to attend the open house. Second, respondent contended that the 9-year-old bar letter was ineffective because it violated due process. Finally, he argued that his presence at Hickam during the open house was protected by the First Amendment. The Court of Appeals rejected respondent's first argument and found it unnecessary to consider the due process arguments. Id., at 1413, 1417. The conviction must be reversed, the Court of Appeals held, because Hickam had been transformed into a temporary public forum during the open house, and the military could not exclude respondent from such a forum. Id., at 1417.

II

In the order granting certiorari, this Court asked the parties to address the additional question "[w]hether the respondent's attendance at the 'open house' at Hickam Air Force Base on May 16, 1981, was the kind of reentry that Congress intended to prohibit in 18 U. S. C. § 1382." 469 U. S., at 1071. Although this issue was not raised by the

parties or passed upon by the Court of Appeals, we address it to "ascertain whether a construction of the statute is fairly possible by which the [constititutional] question may be avoided."" United States v. Grace, 461 U. S. 171, 175–176 (1983), quoting Crowell v. Benson, 285 U. S. 22, 62 (1932). Courts in applying criminal laws generally must follow the plain and unambiguous meaning of the statutory language. Garcia v. United States, 469 U. S. 70, 75 (1984); United States v. Turkette, 452 U. S. 576, 580 (1981). “[O]nly the most extraordinary showing of contrary intentions" in the legislative history will justify a departure from that language. Garcia, supra, at 75. This proposition is not altered simply because application of a statute is challenged on constitutional grounds. Statutes should be construed to avoid constitutional questions, but this interpretative canon is not a license for the judiciary to rewrite language enacted by the legislature. Heckler v. Mathews, 465 U. S. 728, 741– 742 (1984). Any other conclusion, while purporting to be an exercise in judicial restraint, would trench upon the legislative powers vested in Congress by Art. I, §1, of the Constitution. United States v. Locke, 471 U. S. 84, 95–96 (1985). Proper respect for those powers implies that "[s]tatutory construction must begin with the language employed by Congress and the assumption that the ordinary meaning of that language accurately expresses the legislative purpose." Park 'N Fly v. Dollar Park and Fly, Inc., 469 U. S. 189, 194 (1985).

Turning to the statute involved here, we conclude that § 1382 applies to respondent's conduct. The relevant portion of the statute makes it unlawful for a person to reenter a military base after having been ordered not to do so by the commanding officer. Unless the statutory language is to be emptied of its ordinary meaning, respondent violated the terms of § 1382 when he reentered Hickam in 1981 contrary to the bar letter. Respondent, however, argues that § 1382 does not apply to his attendance at the open house for three