Stand Up America Now is an organization created by Florida pastors Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp to "help in proclaiming the Holy Bible of Jesus Christ to Muslims and to educate people about the threat of Shariah law to the fundamental freedoms of our nation." They plan to speak and hand out fliers on Saturday, just before Easter, on a grassy area in Dearborn, Michigan that is open to the public and is across from the Dearborn Islamic Center. They applied for a permit, saying they expected 20 to 25 people to attend. However, before granting the permit, the city insisted that they sign an indemnification agreement as required by city ordinance. The agreement included a waiver of claims against the city even for violation of constitutional rights. The pastors refused, and instead filed a motion (
full text) for a temporary restraining order. In
Stand Up America Now v. City of Dearborn, (ED MI, April 5, 2012), a Michigan federal district court granted the TRO, finding that plaintiffs:
are likely to succeed on their claim that the City of Dearborn’s ordinance requiring a “Hold and Harmless” agreement prior to holding an event, is unconstitutional and violates Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights....
The City of Dearborn’s Ordinance No. 17-33 requires the sponsor of an event to sign an indemnification agreement with terms established by the legal department.... [A]n ordinance which grants an administrative body or government official unfettered discretion to regulate the licensing of activities protected by the First Amendment is unconstitutional....
Thomas More Law Center says that minutes before the order was issued, the city agreed to grant a permit without a Hold Harmless agreement, but plaintiffs still wanted the court to pass on the constitutionality of the requirement since it might be invoked in the future. (See
prior related posting.)
[Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]
