Greensboro admits it unfairly targeted pro-life protesters under COVID-19 order | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is David Bass.

    In a lawsuit settlement, the City of Greensboro has agreed that it violated the First Amendment free speech rights of several pro-life protesters by barring them from accessing a sidewalk outside an abortion facility.

    Greensboro police arrested the protesters - part of the ministry Love Life - in spring of 2020 for violating Guilford County's emergency proclamation on COVID-19. The protesters were walking, praying, and offering sidewalk counseling, which the city contended violated the COVID-19 order.

    The national group Alliance Defending Freedom later filed suit on behalf of the protesters. According to an ADF press release, the protesters "ensured that, at all times, fewer than 10 individuals were present in [the] group, that they were spaced at least six feet apart, and that they were equipped with sanitizer, as required by the social distancing provisions of the proclamation."

    In the settlement, Greensboro city officials admitted that the pro-life protesters were cited for their "exercise of constitutionally protected First Amendment rights," and further agreed to uphold citizens' First Amendment rights in any future public-health emergency proclamation. In an earlier settlement, Guilford County also agreed to pay $15,000 toward the protesters' attorneys' fees.

    In a statement, ADF senior counsel Denise Harle pointed to political bias as motivating the actions of the city of Greensboro.

    "According to Greensboro officials, praying while walking was not allowed because of COVID-19. Clearly, this case was never about public health and safety; it was about the government silencing people because it didn't like what they had to say," Harle said. "That said, we commend the city for finally agreeing to respect the free speech rights of Love Life members and acknowledge their freedom to pray and speak in the public square, just like every other citizen's."
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




State Awards $30M for Clean School Bus Replacements, Including 43 New Electric School Buses Carolina Journal, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Bipartisan School Reopenings? No. Progressive Leaders Fought to Keep Schools Closed


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Atheist Soros, although born Jewish, was Nazi collaborator in Hungary in WWII
anti-immigration conservative nationalist beats Social Democrat incumbent 2 to 1
Biden wants to push this in public schools and Gov. deSantis says NO
this at the time that pro-Hamas radicals are rioting around the country
populist / nationalist anti-immigration AfD most popular party among young voters, CDU second

HbAD1

Barr had previously said he would jump off a bridge before supporting Trump
illegal alien "asylum seeker" migrants are a crime wave on both sides of the Atlantic
Decision is a win for election integrity. NC should do the same.
Biden regime intends to force public school compliance as well as colleges

HbAD2

prosecutors appeal acquittal of member of parliament in lower court for posting Bible verse
Biden abuses power to turn statute on its head; womens groups to sue
The Missouri Senate approved a constitutional amendment to ban non-U.S. citizens from voting and also ban ranked-choice voting.
Democrats prosecuting political opponets just like foreign dictrators do
populist / nationalist / sovereigntist right are kingmakers for new government
18 year old boy who thinks he is girl planned to shoot up elementary school in Maryland
Biden assault on democracy continues to build as he ramps up dictatorship

HbAD3

 
Back to Top