{"id":683,"date":"2011-07-22T10:10:12","date_gmt":"2011-07-22T14:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=683"},"modified":"2011-07-21T17:11:57","modified_gmt":"2011-07-21T21:11:57","slug":"pittsburgh-poised-to-repeal-ordinance-banning-pro-life-leaflets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/pittsburgh-poised-to-repeal-ordinance-banning-pro-life-leaflets.html","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Poised to Repeal Ordinance Banning Pro-Life Leaflets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I wanted to bring you an update on a case that we’ve been involved in since last year – a case that has significant ramifications for the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you may recall, we secured an important victory in federal court last fall against the City of Pittsburgh<\/a>.\u00a0The issue: an ordinance that violated the constitutional rights of pro-life advocates.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

It all began last fall when we filed a federal lawsuit challenging Pittsburgh Ordinance 601.02<\/a>, which prohibited the distribution of leaflets in the City. Our clients wanted to distribute pro-life leaflets – in the days leading up to the November election – on unoccupied parked cars without fear of fine, penalty or censure. Our lawsuit was clear: the ordinance was unconstitutional. It was overbroad, vague and impinged on the rights of free speech and due process that the United States Constitution guarantees.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

The court acted quickly. It granted our request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in October, clearing the way for our clients to distribute the materials before the November election<\/a>.\u00a0U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone found that our arguments demonstrated “a likelihood of success on the merits” and enjoined the City from enforcing the ordinance.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In February, Judge Cercone issued an order granting our motion for a preliminary injunction<\/a>,\u00a0explaining that the City’s desire to control littering by barring the distribution of the leaflets did not outweigh the constitutional rights of our clients<\/a>.\u00a0
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recent months, we have focused on efforts to permanently resolve this case. And, now the City of Pittsburgh is moving forward to remove this troubling ordinance<\/a>, which was adopted in 2008. The City already has agreed to pay $35,000 in attorneys’ fees to settle the suit and is moving forward with legislation in City Council to repeal it.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an editorial entitled – “Speech is speech: Pittsburgh must remove an offensive ban” – the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/em> concluded<\/a>:
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The purpose of the 2008 ordinance was to restrict leafleting in the interests of curbing littering. In a city where litter is a problem, especially Downtown, the ordinance made some superficial sense. But what seems a potential source of litter to one person is free speech to another — and that right isn’t superficial, it’s fundamental.” As the Post-Gazette<\/em> put it: “It doesn’t matter whether the speech takes a position that is pro-life or pro-choice – it’s all protected.”
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

I will keep you posted on when this problematic ordinance is taken off the books in the City of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wanted to bring you an update on a case that we’ve been involved in since last year – a case that has significant ramifications for the First Amendment.   As you may recall, we secured an important victory in federal court last fall against the City of Pittsburgh.\u00a0The issue: an ordinance that violated the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,29,66],"tags":[743,155,776,200,224,230,225,223,229,227,226,228],"class_list":["post-683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-justice","category-pro-life","category-u-s-constitution","tag-aclj","tag-federal-lawsuit","tag-first-amendment","tag-free-speech","tag-leaflets","tag-litter","tag-ordinance","tag-pittsburgh","tag-preliminary-injunction","tag-pro-life-advocates","tag-repeal-ordinance","tag-settlement-agreement"],"yoast_head":"\nPittsburgh Poised to Repeal Ordinance Banning Pro-Life Leaflets - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/pittsburgh-poised-to-repeal-ordinance-banning-pro-life-leaflets.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pittsburgh Poised to Repeal Ordinance Banning Pro-Life Leaflets - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I wanted to bring you an update on a case that we’ve been involved in since last year – a case that has significant ramifications for the First Amendment.   As you may recall, we secured an important victory in federal court last fall against the City of Pittsburgh.\u00a0The issue: an ordinance that violated the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/pittsburgh-poised-to-repeal-ordinance-banning-pro-life-leaflets.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-22T14:10:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-21T21:11:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_79238350-300x201.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pittsburgh Poised to Repeal Ordinance Banning Pro-Life Leaflets - 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":690,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions\/690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}