Minnesota City Must Allow People to Share Faith

December 28, 2011

A federal court in Minnesota ruled Dec. 20 that Duluth doesn't have the right to shut down free speech at an event in a public park when officials don't like the viewpoint being expressed, WORLD News Service reports. Last year, two men were passing out religious literature at the annual Bentleyville Tour of Lights when a police officer ordered them to leave, an event organizer told them other people "don't want to hear religious crap" and another offered to help them meet Jesus more quickly. The city backed up the event organizers, but the federal court ruled in favor of the men's First Amendment rights. Alliance Defense Fund litigation staff counsel Jonathan Scruggs applauded the ruling: "The court made the right decision in suspending the ban so that people can share their faith in a nondisruptive manner."