SUNRISE, Fla. — An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney has settled a federal lawsuit against Broward County officials in favor of citizens who were circulating petitions for the state’s marriage protection amendment.
“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs. They shouldn’t be harassed or prevented from participating in the political process,” said ADF-allied attorney Frederick Nelson of the American Liberties Institute. “Exercising your First Amendment rights, including making petitions available in support of marriage, is not a crime. The government has no right to harass and threaten citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights in public.”
On June 6, 2006, citizens representing the Florida Family Policy Council were circulating petitions for the Florida marriage protection amendment at a Promise Keepers event at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise. The citizens were approached by Sunrise police officers who ordered that they stop distributing the petitions immediately.
When asked by John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, why the petitioners were told to stop, a Sunrise police officer could not cite a law, but did lecture him about “Jesus’ lack of mentioning homosexual behavior in the New Testament” and that the petition effort was a “waste of time.” The officer then threatened to arrest Stemberger if the petitions were not removed, despite the fact that the council had paid $800 to have a table at the event.
In the settlement of the ADF-backed lawsuit, the City of Sunrise Police Department sanctioned the officer for his actions, and Broward County has agreed to properly enforce their policies to ensure that all speech is treated fairly and equally.
“We are glad that Broward County officials have taken steps to ensure that First Amendment freedoms for all its citizens are protected and affirmed,” Nelson said.
In light of the settlement, the lawsuit, Florida Family Policy Council v. Broward County, has been dismissed from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org