williamlobdell.com

I’m guessing an evangelical Christian group from Anaheim that has filed suit in federal court, demanding that its members be allowed to work the sidewalks and distribute pamphlets during an upcoming Arab festival, will win its case. Story here.

The group, Arabic Christian Perspectives, says police are violating its free-speech rights by attempting to confine its members to a “designated corner” of the festival in Dearborn, Mich. Its lawsuit names the city and police of Dearborn and seeks an order blocking any such restrictions.

Organizers describe this weekend’s 14th annual Arab International Festival in Dearborn as the largest of its kind in the nation, and expect it to draw more than 300,000 people. An attorney for Arabic Christian Perspectives said the group does not want to cause trouble at the festival or even enter the main festival grounds.

But its members do want to mingle with festival-goers on the sidewalks outside, attorney William Becker Jr. said. “It’s where you and I can go walk and say anything we want,” he said. “Why should (group members) sit in a booth?”

The lawsuit is based on conversations that the group’s pastor, George Saieg, says he had with police in Dearborn. It describes one officer telling Saieg that his group will have to stay in one place – denying it “the right to use the public sidewalks to hand out its religious materials.”