City of Charlotte refused “festival permit” for Roe v. Wade demonstrationhttp://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4788 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY
ADF-allied attorney available to media after hearing City of Charlotte refused “festival permit” for event on Roe v. Wade anniversary
WHO: ADF-allied attorney Frederick Nelson WHAT: Available for media interviews after hearing in Benham v. City of Charlotte WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 8, immediately following hearing, which begins at 9:30 a.m. EST WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, 401 W. Trade St., Charles S. Jonas Building, 2nd Floor, Courtroom 2, Charlotte CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney Frederick Nelson will be available for media interviews following his oral arguments in federal court Thursday in Benham v. City of Charlotte. After Rev. Philip Benham was denied a “festival permit” for a Roe v. Wade anniversary event, Nelson filed suit on Benham’s behalf against the city, which declared the event a “demonstration” instead of a “festival” because it included praise, worship, and preaching of the Gospel. “Christian groups shouldn’t be prohibited from publicly celebrating their beliefs,” said Nelson. “The government has no right to increase bureaucracy and discriminate against Christian groups simply because they are religious.” Because the city’s ordinance permits “festivals” and not “demonstrations,” the city prohibited Benham from holding the event, which the permit application described with the following terms: “Evangelical, Gospel proclamation, praise and worship band, local Christian pastors speaking, post-abortive mothers give testimony, call to repentance.” Nelson alleges the city’s determination–that the religious and pro-life nature of the celebration constituted a demonstration and not a festival–is purely subjective and a violation of Benham’s First Amendment rights. His oral arguments Monday will ask the court to dismiss the city of Charlotte’s motion for summary judgment filed on July 31. A copy of the memorandum in opposition to the city’s motion for summary judgment is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/BenhamOppMemo.pdf. A fact sheet on the lawsuit is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/BenhamFactSheet.pdf. 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.
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