December 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 25

Parks, Proselytizing, and Pride

L AW REVIEW

BY JAMES C. KOZLOWSKI, J.D., PH.D.

A

T THE RECENT 2012 NRPA CONGRESS, I met one of my former graduate students from
the University of Maryland, Jayne Miller. Jayne is the superintendent of the Minneapolis
Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and quite familiar with the case described herein. When
asked, Jayne thought a review of this particular federal court opinion might be of general interest,
providing an informative and practical case study on an aspect of constitutional law that is becoming more commonplace. This particular opinion illustrates MPRB's ongoing First Amendment challenge to accommodate an individual and a private group with contrary viewpoints at a private festival
open to the public in a public park.

Twin Cities Pride Festival
In the case of Johnson v. Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80148 (Dist.
Minn. 6/11/2012), defendant Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board ( " MPRB " ) regulated the distribution of materials at the Twin Cities Pride Festival.
The Festival is an annual celebration organized
by Twin Cities Pride and held in Loring Park, a
42-acre MPRB park on the southwest corner of
downtown Minneapolis.
The Twin Cities Pride Festival ( " Festival " ),
which is free and open to the public, has been
held in Loring Park for 34 of the past 39 years.
The Festival, traditionally held in late June,
hosts concerts and other entertainment and
features booths occupied by sponsors, exhibitors, and vendors which line the walkways in
Loring Park.

Several YouTube public videos (search terms:
Twin Cities Pride, Festival, Loring Park) provide
visuals of the Festival, e.g., www.youtube.com/
watch?v=LdPGOsUxrg0.
Twin Cities Pride is a nonproﬁt organization
dedicated to " creating experiences that bring the
greater GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] community together to commemorate our
diverse heritage, fostering inclusion, educating
and creating awareness of issues, and celebrating achievements in equality. "
Plaintiff Brian Johnson is an evangelical Christian who seeks to spread his religious beliefs by
telling people about Jesus and distributing free
Bibles. From 1998 until 2008, Johnson rented a

booth from which he handed out Bibles to willing
Festival attendees. In 2009, after an exchange of
emails between Johnson and Twin Cities Pride,
Johnson's application for a booth at the Festival
was denied.
Johnson intended to distribute Bibles at the
2009 Festival, but was prevented from doing so
by MPRB. When he refused to leave the Festival,
Johnson was arrested for trespass, but the charge
was later dropped.
In anticipation of the 2010 Festival, Johnson's
attorney sent MPRB a letter in which Johnson demanded that he be permitted to " enter into Loring Park and onto the perimeter sidewalks around
the Park to distribute literature, display signs, and
speak during the time of the festival. " MPRB responded on April 26, 2010, assuring Johnson that
it would not prevent him from engaging in such
activities. However, shortly before the 2010 Festival, Twin Cities Pride petitioned the federal court
to issue a temporary restraining order requiring
MPRB to " prohibit any person or organization
from distributing written materials or tangible objects outside of an authorized exhibitor or vendor
booth " and to " prohibit all signage not authorized
by Twin Cities Pride. "
Acknowledging that the case involved a balancing of the First Amendment interests of both
Twin Cities Pride and Johnson, the federal district court permitted Johnson to join the lawsuit.
Johnson asked the court to issue an order blocking any material distribution regulation by MPRB
which would prevent him from hand distributing
WWW.NRPA.ORG | DECEMBER 2012 |

Parks & Recreation

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December 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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