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发帖数: 29846 | 1 California Christians Found ‘Not Guilty’ of Reading Bible Near Gov’t
Offices
August 16, 2013 Posted by Warner Todd Huston
A court has said that a pair of Christians were “allowed” to read the
Bible aloud outside the Department of Motor Vehicles in Hemet, California.
Wasn’t it kind of the government courts in California to say that these
Christians were allowed to have their rights to free religious expression?
Back in 2011 Mark Mackey and Bret Coronado were arrested and charged with
misdemeanor offenses for reading the Bible outside the DMV location.
But on August 13, Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer found the men “not
guilty” of any offenses.
Prosecutors had to prove that the men needed a permit for their Bible
reading, but were not able to make that case.
According to a full report at Advocates for Faith and Freedom,
In order for the prosecution to prove that a permit was required under
Title 13, Section 1860 of the California Administrative Code, it was
required to prove that the defendants were engaged in a “demonstration or
gathering” as defined in Section 1851. Judge Freer ruled that there was
insufficient evidence to prove that the men conducted either a “
demonstration or gathering.” Both definitions require that the conduct of
defendants was such that it had “the effect, intent or propensity to draw a
crowd or onlookers” and the prosecution couldn’t prove that to be the
case.
“The prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof that our clients
committed a crime when they read the Bible aloud in front a line of people,
” said AFF attorney Robert Taylor.
Interestingly, the judge also pointed out that the law prosecutors tried to
invoke was likely unconstitutional as it gave law enforcement overbroad
powers to quash public gatherings in the first place. Sadly, this case did
not go toward settling the constitutionality of the law, but it was a
victory of sorts to have the judge even mention the fact. |
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