{"id":288301,"date":"2023-04-02T11:28:16","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T16:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=288301"},"modified":"2023-03-31T15:22:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T20:22:39","slug":"nc-officials-first-amendment-pro-life-sidewalk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/nc-officials-first-amendment-pro-life-sidewalk\/","title":{"rendered":"NC county officials recognize First Amendment protects pro-life sidewalk advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Alliance Defending Freedom<\/a>) In settlement of a lawsuit that Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed on behalf of David Benham and members of two pro-life organizations who were arrested or cited for engaging in peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling outside an abortion facility, Mecklenburg County [North Carolina] officials have conceded that the First Amendment protects the pro-life citizens\u2019 public advocacy.<\/p>\n

As part of the\u00a0settlement agreement<\/a>, county officials acknowledged that \u201cpeaceful advocacy on public sidewalks and public streets is governed generally by First Amendment law regarding free speech in a traditional public forum.\u201d Further, county officials stated that any future emergency order related to the COVID-19 pandemic will expressly allow outdoor religious gatherings and \u201cactivities of sidewalk prayer and related peaceful pro-life advocacy\u201d that Benham, president of the nonprofit pro-life charity Cities4Life, and the other pro-life citizens, associated with the Christian ministry Love Life, were engaged in.<\/p>\n

\"Walgreens<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe government can protect public health and safety and still respect the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms Americans have,\u201d said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. \u201cFrom the beginning, this case has been about the government silencing people because it didn\u2019t like their point of view. People of faith can\u2019t be singled out for their religious beliefs or because their form of speech happens to be prayer or pro-life counseling. We commend Mecklenburg County officials for finally agreeing to respect the free speech rights of Mr. Benham and the other pro-life citizens and for acknowledging their freedom to pray and speak in the public square, and we invite the city of Charlotte to follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before ADF attorneys filed the\u00a0lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte in April 2020, they sent a letter to city officials explaining that the arrests shouldn\u2019t have occurred because the individuals complied with all applicable emergency orders and proclamations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors dropped all charges a few months later.<\/p>\n

In light of the settlement, ADF attorneys on Wednesday filed a\u00a0stipulated dismissal<\/a>\u00a0of the county from the case,\u00a0Benham v. City of Charlotte<\/em>, which is still active against the city of Charlotte. In the settlement, Mecklenburg County officials agreed to pay $20,000 toward the pro-life organizations\u2019 attorneys\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This press release was originally published at Alliance Defending Freedom<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you know that as little as $10 a month is enough to reach more than 3,000 people with the truth about abortion that no one else is telling them? Click here to start saving lives 365 days a year.<\/strong><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Alliance Defending Freedom) In settlement of a lawsuit that Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed on behalf of David Benham and members of two pro-life organizations who were arrested or cited for engaging in peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling outside an abortion facility, Mecklenburg County [North Carolina] officials have conceded that the First Amendment protects the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":264350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNC county officials recognize First Amendment protects pro-life sidewalk advocacy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Officials in a North Carolina county have recognized peaceful pro-life sidewalk counseling and prayer as rights protected by the First Amendment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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