BALTIMORE — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and allied attorneys filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of Westminster on behalf of pro-life organization Defend Life. Police insisted that participants in Defend Life’s “Face the Truth” 2008 tour needed permits to peacefully share their pro-life message along a public street.
“Pro-life advocates shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs. The government can’t require them to obtain permits to exercise their First Amendment rights,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster.
In June, Defend Life Director Elizabeth Walsh and volunteers contacted the Westminster Police Department more than two weeks before their planned demonstration—making sure it was in adherence to the law. Police told them that they needed permits from the city and the Maryland State Highway Administration, as well as permission from the owner of a nearby shopping center. Subsequently, a police captain told Defend Life that its permit requests would be denied and refused to provide an explanation.
“Pro-lifers shouldn’t be denied their free speech rights simply because some people don’t approve of their message. That’s a textbook violation of the First Amendment,” said ADF-allied attorney Owen M. Taylor, who is assisting with the case.
Defend Life held its “Face the Truth” tour this summer throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia. Participants wore pro-life T-shirts, held signs, and occasionally shared their message verbally along the road to motorists.
A copy of the complaint filed in the lawsuit Walsh v. City of Westminster is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/WalshComplaint.pdf.
On Sept. 3, ADF attorneys filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of three young women who were arrested, jailed, shackled, and strip-searched after demonstrating on the last day of the Defend Life 2008 tour. A federal judge approved an agreement on Oct. 10 that prohibits enforcement of a permit requirement involved in that case while the court considers its constitutionality (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4708).
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