Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Pastor's Suit Challenging Arrest For Gay Pride Protest Is Settled
According to Thursday's Wichita (KA) Eagle, a settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit that was filed last year by a pastor who was arrested for preaching and distributing literature on a sidewalk near a park where a Gay Pride event was being held. (See prior posting.) A consent decree handed down this week stipulates that the city violated Pastor Mark Holick’s 1st and 14th Amendment rights, and awards him $11,700 in damages and $2,500 in attorneys’ fees. Wichita’s city attorney says that the officers who arrested Holick mistakenly thought the sidewalk was part of the park where the event was being held.