DEARBORN — On November 26, Dearborn City Council members approved a change to its special events ordinance, in response to a court case led by anti-Islamic pastor Terry Jones last summer, when a U.S District Judge ruled the City’s previous ordinance was unconstitutional.

Judge Denise Page Hood had ruled that the City had violated the first amendment by requiring Terry Jones to sign an indemnification agreement before he held a protest in front of the Islamic Center of America (ICA) in April of 2012.

According to the ruling, the ordinance violated the freedom of speech and expressive association of Jones and his group, Stand Up American Now (SUAN). The ordinance had also required the police chief to grant a special permit only after the indemnification agreement was signed, which the judge found to also be a violation of the First Amendment.

On November 26, Dearborn City Council members approved a change to its special events ordinance, in response to a court case led by anti-Islamic pastor Terry Jones last summer, when a U.S District Judge ruled the City’s previous ordinance was unconstitutional.

The City quickly cleared up some misconceptions at the time regarding the ruling, stating that the ordinance had been in effect for many years, and that every organization that held a special event in the City had to follow the same procedures. 

Now, under a new amended version approved by City Council, an event’s sponsor must provide an insurance certificate or sign a ‘hold harmless’ agreement with the City, unless the event is “constitutionally protected.” The new ordinance states that the payment requirement to the City “shall be waived if the applicant can show that the proposed special event is a constitutionally protected event.”

An event application submitted to the police chief must provide a plan for parking, security, crowd control, traffic control, restrooms, noise control and cleanup of the area.  Insurance is also required if the event is not “constitutionally protected.”  The organizers of the event must also get permission from the property owner to hold the event.

Mary Laundroche, director of the City’s Department of Public Information, tells The Arab American News that the original ordinance had never prohibited any groups from exercising their first amendment rights, but changes were made to make the language more well-defined.

 “There was a court ruling that impacted the ordinance and changes were made to strengthen it. People who want to engage in protected speech have always been allowed to do so, but this just makes it more clear,” Laundroche says. “The City sees over 100 special events a year. The ordinance was not created in reaction to one particular group or one particular point of view.”

Precautionary measures taken by the City in the weeks leading up to Jones’ scheduled event may have been what put it in legal jeopardy. The City asked Jones to complete a “Special Events Application and Request Form”, which he submitted on February 16, 2012. However, just days before Jones’ scheduled event on April 7, he was asked to sign an additional “Hold Harmless” agreement or else he would not be able to speak on the public property.

A “Hold Harmless” agreement would have had Jones and his group assume legal and financial responsibility for anything that occurred at the event. On April 2, the Thomas Moore Law Center in Ann Arbor filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Jones and SUAN, claiming that the City had violated Jones’ First Amendment rights by trying to force him to sign the indemnification agreement.

After that motion was filed, the City decided to drop its “Hold Harmless” requirement on Jones and his group, but the case moved forward as the provision was still part of City law. His event protesting “Shariah Law” in front of the ICA went on as scheduled on April 7. Though increased security from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department was present, the event drew minimal attendance and media attention.