“No one should be threatened with arrest simply because they choose to exercise their First Amendment freedoms in a public place,” said Legal Counsel Jon Scruggs. “We commend the city for promptly agreeing to respect the constitutionally protected right of this pastor and all Americans to peacefully distribute faith-based literature.”
On Aug. 28, David Murray
went to West Layton Avenue to express his religious faith and distribute Bibles
during the Harley-Davidson Festival, which is free and open to the public.
Security officers and Greenfield police officers ordered Murray to stop
expressing his beliefs and to move to the adjacent sidewalk behind the festival
vendors, an area no one accesses.
As the Alliance
Defending Freedom letter explained, “Lawrence desires to convey his religious
beliefs through activities protected by the First Amendment of the United
States Constitution. According to the Supreme Court, oral and written
dissemination of religious viewpoints are entitled to the utmost constitutional
protection.”
The letter also
explained that “expression in a traditional public forum deserves the highest
level of protection, and any infringement of speech activity there must
overcome great scrutiny.”
Greenfield’s police chief responded in an e-mail to Alliance Defending Freedom that “personnel have been advised to allow your client’s activity within the public streets, sidewalks and right of way.”
“The government
should not harass and threaten citizens for exercising their constitutionally
protected freedoms in public,” added Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot, a guest on
Faith on Trial. “The city of Greenfield has rightly understood this, and we
will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that this pastor’s freedom to
share his faith is respected. The First Amendment specifically protects every
American’s freedom of speech and religious expression.”Greenfield’s police chief responded in an e-mail to Alliance Defending Freedom that “personnel have been advised to allow your client’s activity within the public streets, sidewalks and right of way.”
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