ACLJ Files Federal Lawsuit after National Park Service Revoked Permit to Display Pro-Life Signs in Washington, D.C.Business Editors/Legal Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2004 The American Center The American Center is a high-rise tower in Southfield, Michigan. It was built in 1975 and stands at 26 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 27. The building's main use is that of a typical office tower. It also includes a parking garage and retail spaces. for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law, today filed suit against the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service after the government revoked a permit issued to pro-life organizations to display pro-life signs in Washington, D.C. this upcoming weekend - to counter the pro-abortion message expected to be delivered at the upcoming March for Freedom of Choice. "The National Park Service maintains the sidewalks along the National Mall National Mall: see National Parks and Monuments (table). but it does not own them, and it cannot, barring exceptional circumstances, deny to citizens the right to use them for the purpose of expressing their views on important issues of the day," said James M. Henderson, Sr., ACLJ ACLJ American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Washington, DC) Senior Counsel, who filed the suit this morning. The ACLJ today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Reverend Patrick Mahoney Patrick Mahoney VC (1827 - 30 October 1857) was born Waterford and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. and his pro-life organization the Christian Defense Coalition along with Brandi Swindell who heads up Generation Life - an Idaho-based organization of young Christian, pro-life activists. This dispute resulted when the National Park Service announced that it was revoking a permit for a demonstration, obtained by Mahoney, because his pro-life message would conflict with the anticipated large scale "March for Women's Lives The March for Women's Lives was a demonstration for abortion rights and women's rights, held April 25, 2004 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and possibly the largest protest ever held on the Mall. " on April 25, 2004. Until the permit was revoked, Mahoney had planned for up to 24 people to assemble and display pro-life signs on sidewalks adjacent to the National Mall, where pro-abortion groups are scheduled to meet this Sunday. Last Friday, the National Park Service notified Mahoney and Swindell and told them their permit had been revoked. In a similar dispute in January 1997, the National Park Service revoked a permit Mahoney had gotten to protest against partial-birth abortion partial-birth abortion n. A late-term abortion, especially one in which a viable fetus is partially delivered through the cervix before being extracted. Not in technical use. during the parade following the second Inaugural of Bill Clinton as President. Then, the ACLJ obtained an injunction from the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington to guarantee that Mahoney could dissent on another public sidewalk in the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). . "The National Park Service has adopted a policy under which decisions about who may protest or speak in public places are made based on content and viewpoint of speech. Worse, the Park Service here is depending on the whims of the private organizers of the March for Women's Lives to determine what speech to suppress," Henderson explained. The ACLJ is also asking the court for injunctive relief injunctive relief n. a court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition which has been requested, and sometimes granted, in a petition to the court for an injunction. and is asking the court for an emergency hearing to clear the way for Mahoney and Swindell to exercise their First Amendment rights this weekend. The lawsuit names as defendants, Gale Norton, Secretary of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. The suit contends the revocation of the permit violates the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments of the constitution as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (, also known as RFRA) is a 1993 United States federal law aimed at preventing laws which substantially burden a person's free exercise of their religion. . The American Center for Law and Justice specializes in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. The ACLJ website address is www.aclj.org. |
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