PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge has ruled that groups holding events in city parks cannot automatically eject people who express an opposing point of view. U.S. District Judge Ancer L. Haggerty said such ejections violate the First Amendment.
Haggerty’s ruling, issued April 13, is a victory for Edward Gathright, an evangelical Christian street preacher who was ejected six times in 2001 and 2002 from events at Pioneer Courthouse Square and Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The events included a welcoming celebration for the Dalai Lama, Gay Pride festivals, an AIDS walk and a commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Gathright’s attorneys said he should not be thrown out of events simply because organizers did not like what he had to say. Gathright often tells gays they must die and likens women to daughters of Babylon. City officials argued the First Amendment guarantees the right of groups to control the message of their events, but Haggerty said Portland officials had gone too far.
“The city does nothing to ensure that individuals are ejected solely because their speech is disruptive,” Haggerty wrote.
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