Christians Banned From Tenn. City Pride Festival Go to Trial (1)

A Tennessee city that rented a park for a Pride Festival in 2023 and one of its police officers must face at trial the First Amendment claims by Christians who the event’s organizers had banned, a federal court said.

Franklin, Tenn., and Officer Kevin Spry aren’t entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ speech and assembly claims, because their speech was protected by the First Amendment and the park was a public forum, Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. said Tuesday for the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Questions also still exist regarding whether the plaintiffs’ ...