First Amendment Dead in Dearborn? UPDATE: They were arrested.
A twitter friend tweeted this video and I was shocked to see what I saw. Christians detained for passing out the Gospel of John on a public street in Dearborn, Michigan. While they weren’t arrested the Christian group was directed to be at least 5 blocks outside of a Muslim festival in order to pass out the Gospel of John on a public sidewalk.
Unless the group who rented the festival area also rented the 5 block area around the festival, this is an apparent violation of the First Amendment, right? Watch the video and see what you think. I’m going to call the Dearborn Police Department and see if they have an explanation. (I did and it’s below the video)
Just got off the phone with the Dearborn Police. The lady I talked to in the Public Information office was very nice and was glad I called to get more information. She did decline when I asked if I could record the conversation for playback here, but this is what she told me.
Apparently the City has a right to establish a “Freedom of Speech” area, which they did for this event. A designated area where all groups were welcome to pass out material.
All groups were welcome to rent booths from organizers of the street fair. Four Christian groups did just that and another was allowed to have a booth by court order (not sure what happened there).
No one was prohibited from walking around the street fair and talking to whomever they pleased. However, passing out of materials was restricted.
The group in the video was not arrested. They were detained for awhile so that the rules could be explained to them. It’s not known if they knew the rules ahead of time.
200,000 people attended the street fair and apparently it was a very successful family friendly event.
The City of Dearborn hopes to have a comprehensive response at CityOfDearborn.org in a day or two.
In conclusion, I wonder if the Christian group that made the video was being provocative? Would a better strategy have been to rent a booth and reach others through smoked turkey legs (for example) (mmmm) and the Gospel of John?
There is probably even more to this story, but I think we all have to be careful not to jump to conclusions when we see a video like this. I’m glad I called the Dearborn Police to find out more. Sheds a little different light. If the rights of the Christian group were violated, they should call the Alliance Defense Fund. If not, I would recommend they get a booth next year and see what God can do with some corn dogs (mmmm) and the Gospel of John!
UPDATE: I guess they WERE arrested.
You would have been able to record the conversation. Trust me they were recording you. In Michigan if you were “A” and the police department was “B”, either “A” or “B” can record the call without notifying the other. However, if “C” (3rd party) records the call between “A” or “B”, then that would be illegal.
The statute that they were arrested under, does not cover any activity that they were involved in. The police did not have a right to take the video camera either. The officer clearly asks for the video camera at the end of the tape. They also were arrested.
I know the area well. I am a retired police officer from Westland, which is very close by.