Appeal likely of district court decision upholding Pittsburgh censorship zones
Thursday, Nov 16, 2017
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot regarding a federal district court’s decision Thursday in Bruni v. City of Pittsburgh upholding the city’s censorship zone ordinance even after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit sent the case back to the district court upon finding that “the Ordinance imposes the same kind of burden on speech” as one the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2014:
“The government can’t stifle free speech simply because some pro-abortion politicians or activists demand it. The district court should have ruled in accordance with the appeals court, which correctly applied what the Supreme Court made clear three years ago—that free speech receives the highest protection on public sidewalks. Because the city cannot justify squelching the peaceful offers of help that the sidewalk counselors we represent offer to women, we are consulting with our clients regarding the possibility of appeal.”
“The government can’t stifle free speech simply because some pro-abortion politicians or activists demand it. The district court should have ruled in accordance with the appeals court, which correctly applied what the Supreme Court made clear three years ago—that free speech receives the highest protection on public sidewalks. Because the city cannot justify squelching the peaceful offers of help that the sidewalk counselors we represent offer to women, we are consulting with our clients regarding the possibility of appeal.”
- Pronunciation guide: Theriot (TAIR’-ee-oh), Bruni (BROON’-ee)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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