Free speech zones suspended in Brigham City as agreement reached

The Brigham City Utah Temple, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. City officials said they will not enforce their "Free speech" ordinance while a lawsuit is pending in federal court.

Ravell Call, Deseret News

BRIGHAM CITY The question of free speech had been at the heart of a federal lawsuit that was initiated by an emergency motion, but visitors to the new Brigham City Utah Temple on Friday may not have known it.

As they took tours and pictures and were unloaded and reloaded from buses throughout the day, there was no one trying to proffer any pamphlets or newspapers. But when demonstrators started arriving in the early afternoon, they had more access to temple patrons than they'd had before.

Thursday evening, an agreement was reached between the Main Street Church of Brigham City, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, and Brigham City officials after the city said it would not enforce the free speech ordinance that had limited demonstrators' access to certain areas around the temple.

"We're excited," Rick Sweet of Mormonism Research Ministry said. "Unfortunately, it's done about two days before the temple open house has concluded, but we're glad they backed down."

The Main Street Church and the ACLU filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court after protestors said they was prohibited from passing out fliers on public sidewalks that border The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' new temple in Brigham City.

The night before a hearing in which the ACLU planned to ask for a temporary restraining order against the city, the two parties reached an agreement.

Brigham City officials agreed to temporarily not enforce the free speech ordinance, as long as the Main Street Church limited its participation on each side of the temple to four protestors, addressing the city's public safety concerns.

ACLU attorney John Mejia said his organization was "thrilled" with the decision. But the Main Street Church did not take advantage of the space Friday morning and afternoon. Calls to Main Street Church officials for comment Friday were not returned.

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Free speech zones suspended in Brigham City as agreement reached