DENVER (W.) Feb. 20, 2008 -- Plans are being made for peaceful anti-abortion protests outside the Democratic National Convention this August.
The planned protesters and their legal team are scheduled to meet with Denver's Attorney David Fine today.
Prior to that meeting, the Christian Defense Coalition and the Survivors, an anti-abortion group, will be holding a news conference in Denver. The convention is scheduled for Aug. 25-28.
At issue, the Christian Defense Coalition said, is the city's decision to remove 14 downtown city parks from the list of public venues in which groups may peacefully assemble. The coalition said the city has refused to accept applications from the pro-life groups seeking to conduct peaceful First Amendment activities at these parks.
The groups followed the normal park application process for the City of Denver by attempting to apply for permits on Nov. 1, the coalition said. They were told that their name would be put on list and they would be contacted when a permit process was put in place. After nearly 4 months of waiting, there is still no plan in place and no indication when one will be put in place, the coalition said.
If the groups cannot reach an agreement with the City of Denver at this meeting, they will file a federal lawsuit tomorrow.
"As advocates for the pre-born, it is the responsibility of the Survivors to defend our right to free speech," said Danielle Versluys, Survivors' director of special events. "Peaceful prayer and witness in the public square are essential to our fight for justice in America, and we cannot let our rights be trampled at the expense of the children scheduled to die from abortion."
