Beaumont, Texas Noise Ordinance Suit Settled

Alliance Defense fund announced on Friday the settlement of a federal lawsuit against Beaumont, Texas filed after the city's arrest in 2005 of two Christians preaching and carrying signs denouncing homosexuality. The two, preaching on a public sidewalk, were charged with violating the city's noise ordinance after police told them that their activity was upsetting people. In the settlement, the city agreed to amend the noise ordinance to include a decibel level and also agreed to provide police training in First Amendment rights.