Free speech applied selectively isn’t free speech at all. Praise God for this federal appeals court’s ruling!
From WORLD. A federal appeals court last week upheld the First Amendment rights of two organizations that sought to chalk a pro-life message on a Washington, D.C., city sidewalk in the summer of 2020. A lower court initially dismissed the case, but last week’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will allow the case to proceed to trial.
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In last Tuesday’s unanimous opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao criticized the city’s “lopsided prosecutorial response” to Black Lives Matter protesters and pro-life protesters.
“The government may not enforce the laws in a manner that picks winners and losers in public debates,” wrote Rao, a Trump appointee. …
Students for Life of America and the Frederick Douglass Foundation sued D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in November 2020. They contended that the city had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by selectively enforcing an ordinance prohibiting defacement of public or private property. …
Throughout the summer [of 2020], protesters covered streets, sidewalks, and storefronts with similar messages in open violation of the city’s defacement ordinance. The protesters never obtained any permits for their actions. Nor did police issue any warnings or make any arrests. City officials allowed the activity to continue and messages to remain throughout the summer.
In contrast, pro-life organizations staged a much smaller protest in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in August 2020. …
When they arrived for their rally on Aug. 1, pro-life group members were met by six police cars and a large contingent of police officers. Officers told the groups they could assemble but would be arrested if they attempted to paint or chalk their message on the sidewalk. Two students chose to chalk “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” on the sidewalk anyway. Despite the messages being written in faint, washable chalk, officials arrested and briefly detained the two individuals, though charges were later dropped. …
John Bursch, an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney who helped represent the pro-life organizations, called the court’s ruling a reaffirmation of free speech principles. “Free speech is for everyone, not just for those in power,” Bursch said. “And the government can’t pick and choose the messages that it … favors and censor the ones that it doesn’t like.” …
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(Excerpt from WORLD. Photo Credit: sergeitokmakov/pixabay)