A new city ordinance in New Orleans against religious free speech in public after dark is being challenged in federal court after repeated arrests of Christian preachers. The most reviled incidents of speech hyped by the media involve calls for repentance of sinful behavior, such as homosexuality.
For background, read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism in America
UPDATE 10/15/14: Houston Lesbian Mayor Subpoenas Opposition Pastors' Sermons
Also read about the California Pastor Arrested for Reading Bible in Public and about how Police Boot Christian from Festival in Buffalo NY as well as Police Halt Bible 'Noise,' Preacher Sues City
UPDATE 7/26/13: City council ends "aggressive solicitation" ban on preaching after dark, but Paul Gros lawsuit continues
-- From "Bourbon Street 'no preaching' law challenged" by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press 9/20/12
In his federal lawsuit, New Orleans pastor Paul Gros claimed the city's "aggressive solicitation" ordinance sets unconstitutional limits on free speech.
The measure makes it a crime for anyone to "loiter or congregate on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social, political or religious message between the hours of sunset and sunrise."
The lawsuit said Gros was a "professing Christian" and pastor of Vieux Carre Assembly of God Church in the French Quarter, a block from Bourbon Street. Gros has been preaching on the French Quarter's streets for 30 years and doesn't intend to harass anyone or solicit any funds, his suit said.
. . . police arrested several preachers on Bourbon Street during the Southern Decadence gay pride festival.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "THIS isn't allowed even on Bourbon Street" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 9/20/12
“Religious speech is just as important, and just as protected by the First Amendment, as speech about any other subject at any time of day,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Joseph La Rue. “New Orleans cannot make criminals of people simply because they want to talk about their faith.”
The lawsuit, which also seeks an injunction halting enforcement of the ban, says the prohibition “is unconstitutional on its face and as applied… It is a content-based restriction on speech but is not narrowly tailored to a compelling state interest.”
“Because of the existence of the Religious Speech Ban and the penalties prescribed for violating it, Pastor Gros did not attend the Southern Decadence event that occurred this past Labor Day weekend. He feared arrest. And Pastor Gros soon learned that his fear was well-founded, discovering that several people communicating a religious message were arrested or threatened with arrest for violating [New Orleans ordinance] 54-419.”
“City Officials in New Orleans have chosen to criminalize speech about faith while allowing just about every other conceivable topic to be discussed and exposed,” said La Rue. “It’s not up to the government to decide the topics we can and cannot discuss. The First Amendment protects an individual’s freedom of speech.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "National Evangelistic Group Denounces Arrest of Christians in New Orleans, Calls for DOJ Intervention" by Heather Clark, Christian News Network 9/17/12
As previously reported, this past Friday, Pastor Troy Bohn of Raven Ministries and five members of his ministry team were arrested while ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the large crowds that were reveling on Bourbon Street, a popular section of the city that is known for its preponderance of bars and strip clubs. After being marched down to the 8th Precinct, three of the Christians were cited for violating the city’s “Aggressive Solicitation” ordinance, which primarily serves to curb the aggressive solicitation of donations.
“New Orleans’ ‘Agressive Solicitation’ ordinance is not only unconstitutional, but unGodly, as it is nothing less than an attempt to silence the public proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is being used as a tool to protect wickedness and criminalize righteousness,” said Repent America director Michael Marcavage. “New Orleans, which has seen great suffering, remains a city full of lawlessness, and is now targeting the messengers of mercy that God has sent into its streets. God is patient, but his judgments are sure.”
Repent America states that it will now be sending a letter to the United States Department of Justice to request that the government intervene by halting the enforcement of New Orleans’ “Aggressive Solicitation” ordinance as it pertains to free speech.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Nine preachers arrested at Southern Decadence" by Katherine Fretland, The Times-Picayune 9/4/12
Nine preachers were arrested Saturday after police said they yelled anti-gay slurs [in other words, quoting the Bible] over bullhorns during a demonstration at Southern Decadence, an annual celebration of gay culture in the French Quarter. Patrick O'Connell, 45, Rolando Igleasias, 31, Cesar Chavez, 22, Daniel Hoogerhuis, 26, Danny Guevera, 20, Larry Craft, 52, Montes Diego, 32 and Gary Brown, 33 were arrested on suspicion of aggressive solicitation, a city law passed last October.
French Quarter activist Leo Watermeier, who has long opposed the vitriolic demonstrations by religious fundamentalists at Decadence, took pictures of the incident outside of Tropical Isle. Some of the preachers carried signs tagged with officialstreetpreachers.com, but police said they did not know the exact organization the men represented.
The Vieux Carre Assembly of God Church in the French Quarter usually allows the preachers to use the church as a base where they can get water and rest, said Pastor Paul Gros, who said he believes the city ordinance violates their free speech rights. "I'm not saying I approve of everything they say and do," Gros said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Showing posts with label Repent America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Repent America. Show all posts
Friday, September 21, 2012
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Police Halt Bible 'Noise,' Preacher Sues City
After a Christian was forbidden to preach the Gospel with a microphone in public, a freedom-of-speech lawsuit now has this Virginia city studying how to revise its noise ordinance.
UPDATE 9/1/11: City settles lawsuit, pays preacher attorney fees, and plans to change ordinance
-- From "Street preacher filed action stating rights violated at 2010 Apple Blossom Festival" by Alex Bridges, Northern Virginia Daily 8/13/11
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg alleges Winchester police officials denied the rights of Michael Marcavage to preach to crowds at the 2010 Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. The lawsuit also claims the noise ordinance police used to order Marcavage to stop preaching through an amplified microphone remains unconstitutionally vague. Marcavage is identified as director of Pennsylvania-based Repent America.
[Police Lieutenant John] Danielson received a complaint from an unidentified male who said he felt uncomfortable with the person using the amplifier and microphone, according to [Staunton defense attorney Rosalie Pemberton] Fessier. The officer observed the activities and concluded the noise from the amplifier to be very loud considering the ambient sound at the festival and thus violated the ordinance, Fessier states.
Fessier also cites evidence as seen in videotaped footage of the street preaching activities. . . .
In her memorandum Fessier states the plaintiffs did not suffer a "constitutional injury" and therefore lack standing to pursue their claims.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Winchester residents make noise over ordinance proposal" by Alex Bridges, Northern Virginia Daily 8/11/11
A proposal to change the city's "outdated" noise control rules and let nightclubs operate without the currently required permits met opposition this week.
Some of the city's noise regulations are under scrutiny in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Street preacher Michael Marcavage claims police violated his right to free speech when they forced him to stop preaching through an amplified microphone to people gathered for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in May 2010. The suit also claims the city ordinance on noise control that police cited in their action is invalid.
The city issues permits for nightclubs in any of the three zoning districts for restaurants that offer live music or karaoke during certain times of the week. Permits often come with conditions such as limitations on noise, number of police responses in a time period and hours during which they can provide music. Zoning Administrator Vincent Diem said his office fields complaints and then he must go to the pertinent agencies to investigate matters further.
[Zoning Administrator Vincent] Diem said he and City Attorney Anthony Williams have been working on the noise ordinance. The proposal notes the noise ordinance "is arguably outdated and requires improvement."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "City sets preacher's speech rights on stranger's 'comfort' level" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 8/6/11
Last year, [Marcavage] was at the Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester. After checking with the police department ahead of time, he used a public address system to carry his message to listeners.
However, he was ordered to shut it down. . . .
[Police Lieutenant John] Danielson told Marcavage: "That gentleman [pointing at a third party] just said he's not comfortable with what's going on. That's a violation of our city code."
He continued, "You can talk all you want, you just can't use this system."
"The ordinance constitutes an outright prohibition of certain verbal expression without any reference to objective characteristics of that expression, such as volume, and it does so through the use of vague terms and unascertainable standards," said the brief, compiled by Rita M. Dunaway [of Rutherford Institute.]
Just weeks ago, as part of the case, a Winchester police officer also admitted under oath that he was ordered to go undercover to monitor street preachers. According to the officer's statement, he used a recording device to film the preachers as they expressed their sincerely held religious beliefs during the 2010 Apple Blossom Festival. Winchester city officials have repeatedly refused to resolve the matter out of court.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
"The City of Winchester's noise ordinance goes far beyond the scope of permissible regulation for a traditional public forum."For background, read Massachusetts Court Rules Against Christian Free Speech and also read Philadelphia Judges Rule Homosexual Rights Trump Christian Message
UPDATE 9/1/11: City settles lawsuit, pays preacher attorney fees, and plans to change ordinance
-- From "Street preacher filed action stating rights violated at 2010 Apple Blossom Festival" by Alex Bridges, Northern Virginia Daily 8/13/11
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg alleges Winchester police officials denied the rights of Michael Marcavage to preach to crowds at the 2010 Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. The lawsuit also claims the noise ordinance police used to order Marcavage to stop preaching through an amplified microphone remains unconstitutionally vague. Marcavage is identified as director of Pennsylvania-based Repent America.
[Police Lieutenant John] Danielson received a complaint from an unidentified male who said he felt uncomfortable with the person using the amplifier and microphone, according to [Staunton defense attorney Rosalie Pemberton] Fessier. The officer observed the activities and concluded the noise from the amplifier to be very loud considering the ambient sound at the festival and thus violated the ordinance, Fessier states.
Fessier also cites evidence as seen in videotaped footage of the street preaching activities. . . .
In her memorandum Fessier states the plaintiffs did not suffer a "constitutional injury" and therefore lack standing to pursue their claims.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Winchester residents make noise over ordinance proposal" by Alex Bridges, Northern Virginia Daily 8/11/11
A proposal to change the city's "outdated" noise control rules and let nightclubs operate without the currently required permits met opposition this week.
Some of the city's noise regulations are under scrutiny in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Street preacher Michael Marcavage claims police violated his right to free speech when they forced him to stop preaching through an amplified microphone to people gathered for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in May 2010. The suit also claims the city ordinance on noise control that police cited in their action is invalid.
The city issues permits for nightclubs in any of the three zoning districts for restaurants that offer live music or karaoke during certain times of the week. Permits often come with conditions such as limitations on noise, number of police responses in a time period and hours during which they can provide music. Zoning Administrator Vincent Diem said his office fields complaints and then he must go to the pertinent agencies to investigate matters further.
[Zoning Administrator Vincent] Diem said he and City Attorney Anthony Williams have been working on the noise ordinance. The proposal notes the noise ordinance "is arguably outdated and requires improvement."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "City sets preacher's speech rights on stranger's 'comfort' level" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 8/6/11
Last year, [Marcavage] was at the Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester. After checking with the police department ahead of time, he used a public address system to carry his message to listeners.
However, he was ordered to shut it down. . . .
[Police Lieutenant John] Danielson told Marcavage: "That gentleman [pointing at a third party] just said he's not comfortable with what's going on. That's a violation of our city code."
He continued, "You can talk all you want, you just can't use this system."
"The ordinance constitutes an outright prohibition of certain verbal expression without any reference to objective characteristics of that expression, such as volume, and it does so through the use of vague terms and unascertainable standards," said the brief, compiled by Rita M. Dunaway [of Rutherford Institute.]
Just weeks ago, as part of the case, a Winchester police officer also admitted under oath that he was ordered to go undercover to monitor street preachers. According to the officer's statement, he used a recording device to film the preachers as they expressed their sincerely held religious beliefs during the 2010 Apple Blossom Festival. Winchester city officials have repeatedly refused to resolve the matter out of court.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Mass. Court Rules Against Christian Free Speech
Appeals court upholds arrest and conviction of Christians preaching repentance from homosexual behavior
-- From "Court upholds conviction in Halloween preacher case" by Julie Manganis, Staff Writer, The Salem News 12/24/09
Michael Marcavage runs an organization called Repent America and has been visiting Salem every Halloween for the past six years to preach to revelers.
Police arrested Marcavage during the festivities two years ago after he disobeyed an order to stop using the megaphone and then got into a shoving match with officers.
Marcavage's conduct, Justice David Mills wrote, created the kind of hazardous or physically offensive condition affecting the public that the disorderly conduct law was intended to address.
Mills said that by disobeying police orders, Marcavage was engendering hostility toward police and disrespect for authority among the crowd, creating a dangerous situation for officers trying to deal with upwards of 100,000 people crowding into the city that night.
"While his underlying conduct, particularly dissemination of his religious message, may have enjoyed First Amendment protection, that protection did not entitle him to disregard police commands reasonably calculated at ensuring public safety amid potentially dangerous circumstances," Mills wrote. "Moreover, the police-imposed limits were content neutral, and no more restrictive than necessary to protect the public. The defendant's conviction, therefore, transgressed no constitutional limits, and was otherwise proper in all respects."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Oral Arguments Before Appeals Court Of Massachusetts" Foundation for Moral Law 5/6/09
In legal briefs submitted in the case, Commonwealth v. Marcavage, No. 2008-P-1294, the Foundation argued that under the Salem city code Marcavage had a right to use a megaphone until 10:00 p.m., as other businesses and street performers were being allowed to do. The Salem Police Department's decision to shut him down and arrest him at 8:30 p.m. was completely unwarranted and a violation of Marcavage's constitutional rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and equal protections of the laws.
Attorney [Ben] DuPré said, “It should not be up to the Salem Police Department to decide when the Constitution protects the rights to free speech and freedom of religion.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Court upholds conviction in Halloween preacher case" by Julie Manganis, Staff Writer, The Salem News 12/24/09
Michael Marcavage runs an organization called Repent America and has been visiting Salem every Halloween for the past six years to preach to revelers.
Police arrested Marcavage during the festivities two years ago after he disobeyed an order to stop using the megaphone and then got into a shoving match with officers.
Marcavage's conduct, Justice David Mills wrote, created the kind of hazardous or physically offensive condition affecting the public that the disorderly conduct law was intended to address.
Mills said that by disobeying police orders, Marcavage was engendering hostility toward police and disrespect for authority among the crowd, creating a dangerous situation for officers trying to deal with upwards of 100,000 people crowding into the city that night.
"While his underlying conduct, particularly dissemination of his religious message, may have enjoyed First Amendment protection, that protection did not entitle him to disregard police commands reasonably calculated at ensuring public safety amid potentially dangerous circumstances," Mills wrote. "Moreover, the police-imposed limits were content neutral, and no more restrictive than necessary to protect the public. The defendant's conviction, therefore, transgressed no constitutional limits, and was otherwise proper in all respects."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Oral Arguments Before Appeals Court Of Massachusetts" Foundation for Moral Law 5/6/09
In legal briefs submitted in the case, Commonwealth v. Marcavage, No. 2008-P-1294, the Foundation argued that under the Salem city code Marcavage had a right to use a megaphone until 10:00 p.m., as other businesses and street performers were being allowed to do. The Salem Police Department's decision to shut him down and arrest him at 8:30 p.m. was completely unwarranted and a violation of Marcavage's constitutional rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and equal protections of the laws.
Attorney [Ben] DuPré said, “It should not be up to the Salem Police Department to decide when the Constitution protects the rights to free speech and freedom of religion.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Department of Justice Instructs Trainees to Remove Christians From Peaceful Protest
From "Department of Justice Labels Repent America 'Fundamentalist Hate Group' in Training Classes; Marcavage Sites Anti-Christian Bias" posted 5/28/07 at AmericansforTruth.com
Repent America (RA) has learned from a law enforcement official that the U.S. Department of Justice has been using its ministry as an example of a Christian “fundamentalist hate group” because of its Biblical opposition to homosexuality during its law enforcement “mediation and conflict resolution” training classes.
Repent America (RA) has learned from a law enforcement official that the U.S. Department of Justice has been using its ministry as an example of a Christian “fundamentalist hate group” because of its Biblical opposition to homosexuality during its law enforcement “mediation and conflict resolution” training classes.
On Thursday, May 24, 2007, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), which operates 14 publicly-owned universities, manages approximately 300 police officers, and oversees over 100,000 students, hosted a mandatory class entitled “Mediation and Conflict Resolution Skills for Law Enforcement” at its central headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The class is part of a police training series under the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, which is provided at different times to PASSHE police officers.
During this class, Timothy Johnson, Sr. Conciliation Specialist for the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, falsely characterized “Repent America” as a Christian “fundamentalist hate group” and had law enforcement officials participate in a role-playing activity to illustrate this point. Johnson directed a number of police officers to stage a campus dramatization before the class between a mock Repent America evangelism team and a group of upset homosexuals. While these officers were role-playing the two groups, another officer was instructed to “mediate the conflict” by removing the Christians, instead of affirming their constitutional rights to be on a public campus. The removal instruction was because the homosexuals were hurt and offended by the Biblical message of repentance and call to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The same dramatization occurred on at least one other occasion before a previous training class.
“When I learned of what happened from a police officer who was in attendance and witnessed the dramatization, I was quite taken aback,” Repent America director Michael Marcavage stated. “It is absolutely astounding that federal government officials are now openly classifying Christians who publicly speak the truth of God’s Word as ‘haters’ and wrongfully training law enforcement to remove them from the public square for their obedience to the Great Commission. This truly is a wake up call to the church in America,” Marcavage said. “This remarkable example of government participation in anti-Christian discrimination shows just how aggressively the war is being waged against Christianity, where now our so-called Justice Department is actively working to silence God’s people,” he continued. “This alarming development provides even more reason why Christians should be vigorously opposing ‘hate crime’ laws, which seek to criminalize Christians for their thoughts and beliefs,” Marcavage concluded.
Read the rest of this article.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
