Judge Sides With Thayer In Pride Citation Case

Andy Thayer (photo below) won his case Aug. 11 against a citation issued to him by Chicago police for the Gay Liberation Network's counter-protest against anti-gay protesters at the Chicago Pride Parade June 27.

"Citing a violation...is not applicable in this case," Administrative Law Judge Zipporah Lewis ruled at the end of a hearing that lasted more than two hours.

The anti-gay protesters mar the end of the Pride Parade each year, standing at the corner of Diversey and Pine Grove in an area designated for them by the police. Many of them hold signs bearing demeaning and insulting comments about LGBTs.

Thayer said GLN had an agreement with the Chicago Police Department allowing them to stop in front of the anti-gay contingent so long as GLN members didn't block the parade route. But when GLN stopped there, with their 10-foot high banner on wheels in front of the anti-gay demonstrators, police and parade marshals ordered them to move the banner, then issued Thayer a citation when they didn't.

In court, the City alleged that Thayer had violated the law by "erecting a scaffolding" without a permit for that purpose. While the banner was on a scaffolding-type structure, it was on wheels, had been rolled the entire length of the parade by GLN members at that point and also carried GLN's amplified speaker system. Its dimensions, Thayer said, were 10 feet high, 14 feet wide and four feet deep.

But police at the scene, under the direction of Dep. Chief Bruce Rottner, didn't cite Thayer for "erecting a scaffolding." Instead, after consultation with an officer from the CPD's law department, they cited him for "failing to obey a lawful order" by a police officer.

Lewis agreed with Thayer's attorney, Jeffrey Frank, who argued that the violation was illegal because the City statute the citation referenced is part of a section of City code that deals with traffic rules. Traffic rules aren't enforced against participating groups during a legally permitted parade, Frank argued.

"This ticket was issued without any basis," Frank said. "They could only come up with a specious and arbitrary charge."

A few days before the parade, the City acknowledged, CPD Commander Frank Gross contacted Thayer after meeting with Pride organizers. At that meeting, Gross testified, concerns were raised about avoiding a repeat of GLN's encounter with the anti-gay protesters in the 2009 Pride Parade, when GLN members blocked the parade for some time by stopping for a counter-protest.

"They said they didn't want this to happen again," Gross said.

Gross said he called Thayer after that meeting to try to work out an agreement with GLN that would allow them to pull their "float" over to the side of the street and counter-protest the anti-gay group while allowing the rest of the parade to go by.

"Basically, Andy agreed to it and said he would pull over to the side and protest the counter-protesters and let the parade continue," Gross testified. "I assumed it would be a float."

Thayer cited that agreement when police at the scene told GLN they couldn't stop with the banner in front of the anti-gay group.

At the hearing, police consistently over-estimated the height of the banner, characterizing it as "two stories high" at one point and "20-30 feet high" at another. Looking at photographs entered as evidence, Gross said, "It looks narrower than a truck." Frank noted that would have made it less obstructive than a float.

"He (Thayer) was in compliance with an order of Commander Gross," Frank told the judge.

The City argued that the rolling banner was "an edifice," a "scaffolding" and a safety hazard. But police didn't cite Thayer for any violations along those lines, instead giving him a ticket for violating part of a traffic ordinance. Applying the ordinance during a parade, Frank said, would mean that floats could be cited for crossing the center line of the street.

Lewis agreed, saying the ordinance "cannot be looked at in a vacuum."

Thayer could have been fined up to $1,000 if the citation had been upheld.

Parade Coordinator Richard Pfeiffer said the anti-gay group, led by self-proclaimed preacher Ruben Israel, travels from San Diego to Chicago and other cities to protest at Pride parades.

"When they started 10 years ago, we said there were going to be real problems, but (City officials) said they have the right to be there," Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer said the City explained that the anti-gay group cannot be in the street during the parade but has a right to protest on the sidewalk.

"The way the police said it was that they were going to give them a spot rather than have them pop up anywhere," Pfeiffer said.

Chicago City Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said the City has no choice but to allow the anti-gay protesters to exercise their First Amendment rights.

"We can't prohibit them from protesting," Hoyle said. "We do have to accommodate their desire to be in reasonable range of whatever they're protesting."

Hoyle said what constitutes "reasonable range" has been the subject of discussions about the Pride Parade and other events, such as the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

"There's not a specific distance," she said.