ACLU lawsuit accuses Loogootee of blocking LGBTQ+ pride festival
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a federal lawsuit Thursday morning against the City of Loogootee for allegedly blocking this year’s LGBTQ+ community pride festival.
According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the city initially approved a permit for PrideFest 2024 to take place on Sept. 4. But since then, the city has changed the application process for using city property and rescinded its approval.
The organizers of PrideFest filed a new application in February 2024 to have the festival on the same date and place that was previously approved.
However, a vote was never taken on the application despite it being on the Loogootee City Council’s agenda for March, April and May.
Loogootee city attorney Steven Teverbaugh declined to comment on lawsuit because he has yet to see a copy of it.
The complaint claims that a Summer Fest was allowed to take place in the same location on the public square this month without the organizers applying for a permit.
At the June City Council meeting a new ordinance was read repealing and replacing the the February 2024 ordinance for special events that will go into effect July 1.
“There is not yet a printed version of the new ordinance that is available to the general public. Nevertheless, the Council suspended its rules and unanimously approved the new ordinance, which its members had not read prior to the meeting,” the complaint states.
The complaint alleges the new ordinance is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment rights of the Patoka Valley Aid Community Action Group, the pride fest sponsor.
“Moreover, the City’s obvious attempts to prevent PrideFest 2024 from occurring are, in and of itself, a First Amendment violation as it represents content-based discrimination,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief.
Indiana Lawyer staff received an “out of office” reply to a request for comment from the city attorney for Loogootee.
“The City of Loogootee’s revocation of its November 2023 permission to hold PrideFest 2024 and its actions since that time violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” ACLU of Indiana Legal director Ken Falk said in a news release.
“The latest city special events ordinance is unconstitutional in many ways. It, and the actions of the City Council, clearly indicate that Council members are trying to deny our plaintiffs the ability to hold their event because they disagree with a celebration of the LGBTQ community.”
The case is Patoka Valley Aid Community Action Group Inc. v. City of Loogootee, Indiana, 3:24-cv-100.