Politics
Tuesday October 27, 2009
St. Louis Agrees to End Ban on Christian Handouts During Gay Pride
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
ST. LOUIS, October 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The city of St. Louis has agreed to scrap a problematic literature distribution policy after a federal court ordered the city to stop enforcing it as part of a lawsuit filed by an Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) allied attorney. The policy was used to prohibit members of a Christian ministry from distributing literature and speaking about their religious viewpoint at an annual "PrideFest" event that celebrates homosexual behavior. The ministry filed a voluntary dismissal of its lawsuit Wednesday after reaching an agreement with the city.
In June 2006, members of Apple of His Eye Ministries were threatened with arrest by St. Louis officials for handing out Christian literature and speaking about their faith at Tower Grove Park during the annual PrideFest event. In April 2008, ADF-allied attorney Rick Nelson filed a lawsuit and a motion for preliminary injunction on behalf of the ministry against the city of St. Louis. The court issued the preliminary injunction to prohibit enforcement of the city policy last June, four days before the 2008 PrideFest event began.
The court then issued a permanent injunction two weeks before the PrideFest event in June 2009, which allowed members of the ministry to express their viewpoint at the park this year. The order protects the ministry's literature distribution activities in the future at all public parks, public squares, and other public places within the city of St. Louis--including public sidewalks.
"Christian groups shouldn't be banned from public areas for expressing their beliefs," said Nelson, who served as lead counsel in the lawsuit. "We are pleased that the city of St. Louis now recognizes the First Amendment rights of ministries who wish to share their viewpoint on important social and moral issues at events taking place at public locations."
The lawsuit, Apple of His Eye v. City of St. Louis, was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Court Order Permits Christian Handouts at Homosexual "PrideFest"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08062703.html
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- Appeal Filed to Give D.C. Voters Right to Vote on Gay “Marriage” Law
- Cardinal George Denounces "New Ways Ministry" as Pseudo-Catholic Organization
- Vatican: Population Growth is a Means of Overcoming Poverty, Not a Cause of It
- “Bogus Compassion” is Killing Children and Corrupting Society: Belgian Philosopher
- Indian Court Rules Born and Unborn Are Equal
- United Nations Urges Nicaragua to Legalize Abortion
- Vatican Consultant Responds to 'Completely Ignorant' IPPF Accusation
- Irony: 19-Child Duggar Family Renting Former Home of Local Planned Parenthood Leader
- Document Reveals Inconsistencies in ND's Jenkins Claims on ND88
- New Country Music Star Born as Pro-Life Ballad Climbs the Charts
- Commentary on February 8 News
- Police Refuse to Release Federal "Threat Assessment" on Wis. Pro-Lifers
- Canadian Human Rights Commission Appeals Ruling against Hate Messages Statute
- Homosexual Activist Keith Norton Dies at 69
- Letters to the Editor
Most Read this Week
- Veterans, Former Army Legal Chief Defend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
- Planned Parenthood President Lands Spot on Ford Foundation Board
- Rabbis Warn against 'Disaster' of Open Homosexuality in the Military
- Football Pros Give Support to Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad
- Clash of the Abortion Titans: Planned Parenthood Launches 'Pro-Choice' Football Ad
- Canadian Station Pulls Pro-Life Ad – Too “Graphic”
- Hijacking the Brain — How Pornography Works
- Group Exposes Media "Fraud" at March for Life
- U.S. Sisters in Crisis after Embracing “Secular Culture”: Vatican Cardinal
- NYT: Rampant Polygamy in Gay 'Marriage' May Benefit Institution
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.