Repost from LBN: Preacher fights ban on spreading gospel on Atlanta sidewalks

Thanks to DUer Judi Lynn for the original post:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141948205

Source: Associated Press

Jeff Martin, Associated Press
Updated 3:46 pm, Wednesday, December 27, 2017

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia preacher who says he was barred from public sidewalks and feared arrest for spreading the gospel on the fringes of a large outdoor concert in Atlanta is challenging the restrictions in court.

In a federal lawsuit, Eric Love says his free speech rights were violated outside the Shaky Beats music festival, which drew thousands in May to downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.

Love is asking a judge to decide whether the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and its police force can prohibit preaching from the surrounding sidewalks. The authority oversees the park, which was created for the 1996 Olympic Games.

The authority has cited a Georgia law that allows it to ban solicitation and other activities on public sidewalks and streets bordering the park when large events are held. That amounts to an unreasonable ban on free speech, one of Love's lawyers, Terry Lloyd, maintains in the suit.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Preacher-fights-ban-on-spreading-gospel-on-12457516.php