Free Speech in Alabama
September 4, 2009
On September 1, a settlement agreement was reached in the lawsuit after a federal judge ruled against The City of Birmingham and its mayor in their efforts to have the case dismissed. The city must now pay legal costs and attorneys’ fees in excess of $40,000. The city will also establish non-discriminatory regulations for the approval of the hanging of banners on city property by city employees to announce public events. “Discrimination against members of the gay community will not be tolerated in this city where historic progress has been made for civil rights,” says Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Beth Littrell.
Staff Attorney
“A government official cannot pick and choose which groups get government benefits or free speech rights.”
Central Alabama Pride (CAP) has held a gay pride parade in Birmingham every year since 1989, and its Pride banners have been displayed in accordance with city policy — the same policy that allows the display of banners for a variety of events and organizations, including religious events and organizations.
But in May of 2008 — 19 years after CAP's first Pride parade — Mayor Larry Langford announced that he would neither sign a proclamation nor provide a permit for gay pride based on his religious beliefs that do not "condone that lifestyle choice," going so far as to forbid city workers from attaching Pride banners on city poles.
CAP filed a complaint against the city in August but Birmingham decided to allow a national antigay firm to represent the city. Lambda Legal joined the case as co-counsel at the request of CAP and their attorney, Birmingham civil rights lawyer David Gespass. We are challenging Mayor Langford's actions, claiming free speech and equal protection violations for denying CAP the same city resources that are available to other groups.
The case is Central Alabama Pride, Inc. v. Larry Langford
