Pennsylvania Street Preachers Win Right to Witness in Public
by Allie Martin
August 9, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Two Pennsylvania preachers silenced by officials in one city have emerged victorious in a legal battle over free speech. The two Christians were barred from speaking in a public park last year after they were arrested during a pro-homosexual event known as "PrideFest 2005" in Harrisburg.
At that time, both preachers were charged with "defiant trespass" and also with violating the city's noise ordinance for preaching on a sidewalk. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) went to court on their behalf, filing suit against the city and arguing that the Christians' constitutional rights had been violated.
Although a federal district judge in Pennsylvania denied one of the ministers' motion for a preliminary injunction to allow him to preach in public during this year's PrideFest event, the judge stated in his ruling that the preacher's rights had indeed been violated by Harrisburg officials.
ADF-allied attorney Randy Wenger appealed the decision on the injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; but rather than continue litigation, city officials agreed to uphold the pastors' constitutional rights. As a result of the Harrisburg officials' capitulation, the street preachers were able to witness publicly during the 2006 "gay pride" event.
"We ended up working with the city," Wenger explains. "After appealing to the Third Circuit Court," he says, "the city gave in and agreed to a stipulated injunction, which was signed by the federal court judge." The city representatives also signed the district court's order to guarantee that no further infringement of the Christians' rights would occur.
Preachers are regularly arrested at PrideFest each year, the ADF affiliate points out. "But free speech rights apply to everyone," he asserts. "The city cannot take sides. Christian speech shouldn't be treated differently than any other kind of speech in a public forum."
Wenger says the City of Harrisburg has now agreed not to misuse noise ordinances and trespass statutes to silence Christian speech on public rights-of-way. Doing so, he warns, violates the rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
