Persecution--NOT

A recent letter to my local newspaper announces the formation of a Web site to document the persecution of Christians.

The writer sent the letter to my local paper because our city (I call it that even though I live outside the city limits) has gained a reputation in the blogosphere for persecuting Christians. This comes from a 2007 incident in which people who identify themselves as Christians attempted to disrupt a rally in the downtown park in favor of gay and lesbian rights, were arrested, and were convicted in city court.

The people who were convicted are now disingenuous about it: they've been claiming that they only wanted to pray near the rally, but both the original news reports and the court testimony show that they interfered directly in the rally. Jason Hughes has written more about it here.

By now everyone should be used to the idea that any rally or demonstration is likely to attract a counter-demonstration. Police departments are certainly used to it and know that their responsibility is to protect the rights of people on both sides by allowing both groups to demonstrate while preventing direct confrontations. Typically this means allocating a separate space to each group, such as opposite sides of the street. Swing by the United Nations building in New York City if you want to see how this works.

The writer of the original letter asked if he'd be arrested for praying in my city, which is one of the most conventionally religious towns I know. The answer is no. He'll be free to pray on a street corner, even to preach from that street corner. If he attempts to preach from the middle of a busy intersection, or to disrupt anyone else's lawful speech, it's another matter.