PHILADELPHIA — ADF attorneys and allied attorneys filed an appeal Tuesday on behalf of 11 Christians silenced for publicly expressing their views on homosexual behavior. The group is appealing a judge’s Jan. 19 dismissal of their federal court case against Philadelphia officials who failed to protect their right to free speech during the 2004 Outfest.
“Speech cannot be silenced simply because another person or group does not agree with it,” said ADF-allied attorney Ted Hoppe. “City officials must be held accountable for their decision to violate the First Amendment rights of Christians who wanted nothing more than to engage in peaceful assembly on a public street.”
All 11 members of the group were arrested Oct. 10, 2004, after quoting the Bible and expressing their views against homosexual behavior on a public street during Outfest, a publicly-funded celebration of homosexual behavior. The city immediately dropped charges against all but five people, including one juvenile. In February 2005, a Philadelphia judge dismissed the charges against the remaining four adults, ruling that she found no basis for the allegations (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3340).
A copy of the notice of appeal filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in
Startzell v. City of Philadelphia is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/StartzellAppeal.pdf.
“City officials must be held accountable for their decision to censor those who disagree with homosexual behavior,” Hoppe said. “All citizens are permitted by the Constitution to express their beliefs on a public street during a publicly-funded event without fear of arrest.”
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org