Published: Monday, July 16, 2012, 8:30 AM Updated: Monday, July 16, 2012, 2:50 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of two City of Alabaster ordinances that the church says bars it and other religious groups and charities from door-to-door solicitations unless they first register and pay license fees.
The lawsuit was filed after a member of the church's Summer Student Missionary Program was ticketed in June by an Alabaster police officer for selling books door-to-door without a City of Alabaster permit, the lawsuit states. The group suspended its program in Alabaster after the citation.
"The City of Alabaster has enacted two sweeping ordinances that unconstitutionally restrict the exchange of beliefs and religious principles within the Alabaster city limits," the lawsuit states. The ordinances were enacted in 1994.
The lawsuit seeks a court order that declares the ordinances unconstitutional and bars the city from enforcing them.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre has set a hearing in the case for Wednesday at the Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse in downtown Birmingham. Bowdre ordered that any evidence, or argument, that Alabaster wishes to submit in opposition to the Seventh-day Adventists' request for an order temporarily blocking enforcement of the city ordinances while the lawsuit is pending, must be submitted by noon Tuesday.
The City of Alabaster has issued the following statement Monday afternoon:
"The city welcomes and respects groups and individuals of all beliefs and persuasions to enjoy equally the freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Alabama," according to the statement from Alabaster City Attorney Jeffrey Brumlow.
"Both Alabama state law governing door-to-door charitable solicitation, and the ordinances of the city governing the same, have been and will continue to be applied neutrally to all individuals and groups who solicit sales and charitable contributions door-to-door within the city, as well as paid solicitors for nonprofit organizations and groups. The city does not and will not tolerate any form of discrimination against any group or individual on any basis."
The city, however, will not comment on specifics in matters of pending litigation, according to the statement. "However, the city denies the allegations in the lawsuit and will file a formal answer as required by law. The city continues the investigation into this matter."
Todd R. McFarland, associate general counsel with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Maryland, said Sunday that the church has had police officers in other cities ticket student missionaries under similar laws in those places. But he said nine times out of 10 they can work it out with the city, he said.
In the case of Alabaster, they weren't able to work out a solution and filed the lawsuit Friday, McFarland said. It is the first lawsuit of its type -- regarding door-to-door solicitations -- filed by the church in at least a decade, he said.
Under the Summer Student Missionary Program, the lawsuit states, teams travel to a pre-determined destination and canvass door to door. The teams offer free literature about the Seventh-day Adventist faith, engage in verbal evangelism, and solicit charitable donations to help support the program.
The church in April had sent the Alabaster Police Department a letter explaining its program.
"On Constitutional grounds, we must respectfully decline to seek any permit or license. We feel no government has the right to require and order payment of fees or take for the purpose of engaging in this door-to-door ministry," according to the letter.
Two Alabaster ordinances place restrictions on any person or group engaged in pamphleteering or solicitation anywhere in the city, according to the lawsuit. One is a business license permit ordinance and the other is a solicitation ordinance, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that Alabaster has a lengthy and financially burdensome solicitation permit process, which includes review by a city council-appointed committee and the potential for a public hearing.
"These ordinances directly target, and impose a prior restraint upon, speech afforded the highest levels of protection by the First Amendment," the lawsuit states. "Courts have routinely rejected governmental efforts to impose this sort of sweeping prior restraint on speech, and particularly so when the speech involved lies at the very core of our constitutional system."
Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Faulk at kfaulk@bhamnews.com.
A statement from the City of Alabaster's attorney was added at 2:45 p.m. Monday, July 16, 2012.
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