More Than 200 March for Lesbian and Gay Pride in Chattanooga

Chattanooga,  TN (EGCM)  Spurred by  an American  Civil Liberties  Union
lawsuit, the Chattanooga Police Department  has issued a hotly contested
parade  permit for  the  Chattanooga Lesbian  and  Gay Pride  Committee,
allowing  more  than  200  people  to march  in  a  celebration  of  gay
visibility and a call for gay and lesbian rights.

"This  year's parade  DD which  was  twice the  size of  last year's  DD
celebrated not only  gay pride, but also our protection  under the First
Amendment," said  Marvin Parker, one  of the parade  organizer. "Because
we were able to march down the  route we had selected DD rather than the
deserted  warehouse  district the  City  Council  picked  for us  DD  we
achieved recognition in  Chattanooga and opened up a  dialogue about gay
rights here."

The  ACLU's national  Lesbian and  Gay Rights  Project and  the ACLU  of
Tennessee had  filed suit on  behalf of  the Pride Committee,  after the
committee itself had sought the  parade permit for three months. Despite
the Committee's  repeated efforts, the Chattanooga  City Council refused
to  grant the  group a  permit  for its  desired march  route through  a
residential  district.  Instead,  because   of  opposition  within  that
district, the City  Council on its own initiative issued  a permit for a
parade through an industrial zone.

"The City Council's  decision to shunt this parade aside  because of its
controversial message  blatantly violated  the right to  free expression
guaranteed to  all Americans,"  said Marc E.  Elovitz, Staff  Counsel to
the ACLU  national Lesbian and Gay  Rights Project and lead  attorney on
the case.

"City  streets must  be  made available  for parades  and  marches on  a
content-neutral basis," Elovitz said. "A  city council or any other city
official cannot  sit in judgment  of the viewpoints of  city residents."

Two  days after  the ACLU  lawsuit was  filed, Chattanooga  Police Chief
Ralph  Cothran  exercised  his  authority  to grant  a  permit  for  the
residential route. Although  his decision allowed the  1993 pride parade
to go forward  as scheduled, it did not solve  the underlying problem of
Chattanooga's  impermissible system  for considering  and granting  such
permits. The  ACLU challenge  will continue  until Chattanooga  adopts a
constitutional system, one that carefully  limits the discretion of city
officials and prohibits  decisions based upon the message  of any march.

"The Police  Chiefs coming to his  senses saved the City  from having to
defend itself  in an  emergency hearing," said  Ruth E.  Harlow, another
ACLU attorney  working on  the litigation.  "But Chattanooga  must still
reform  its  permit-granting  scheme  so  others  are  not  silenced  or
hampered,"  she  added.  "Lesbians  and  gay  men  have  advanced  civil
liberties  for  all  Chattanoogans  by  fighting  this  unconstitutional
situation."

The case is  pending before United States District Judge  R. Allan Edgar
in  Chattanooga.  Judge  Edgar  has  scheduled  a  case  conference.  In
addition to Elovitz and Harlow, the plaintiffs are represented by Jay Ku
of Chattanooga.

For   more  information   contact:   Hedy   Weinberg,  Tennessee   ACLU;
615-320-7143.  Phil  Guits;  Media   Relations  Office;  American  Civil
Liberties  Union;  132 West  43rd  Street;  New  York, NY  10036;  Voice
212-944-9800-623;  Fax   212-869-9065.  Be  sure  to   mention  in  your
correspondence  that  you  heard  of this  through  The  Electronic  Gay
Community Magazine.

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