City May Keep Preachers Off the Streets
CBNNews.com
August 29, 2007
CBNNews.com - A North Carolina town is being accused of trying to keep Christians from preaching and praying on the streets.
Walnut Cove is near Greensboro, N.C. and has less than 2,000 residents. Church members at the Baux Mountain Baptist Church evangelize on the town's streets every weekend.
They say there have been five salvations so far, but a new ordinance may keep them from gathering, unless they have a permit.
"We feel like that's still unconstitutional and that we do not need a permit to be able to gather as churches or groups of people to voice our opinion's on what we believe," Baux Mountain Pastor Mark Smith said.
CBN News spoke with a Walnut Cove city official who said that the issue is not about freedoms, but about safety.
Town Manager Homer Dearmin said there is concern about the extra traffic and kids running out in the street. Some business owners had complained about church members taking up their parking spots and blocking the entrances to their businesses.
"Walnut Cove has no intention of imposing on anyone's freedom of speech or freedom of religion," Dearmin said.
The new rules are scheduled to go into affect in October. Until then, church members say they will continue to share on the streets and try to overturn the ordinance.
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