Court allows evangelist to distribute Bibles at gay pride festival

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Brian Johnson

Brian JohnsonA Wisconsin man was allowed to pass out Bibles at a gay pride festival on Sunday after a federal appeals court granted him a last-minute preliminary injunction late last week.

Brian Johnson, a taxidermist from Hayward, Wis., was awarded the opportunity to distribute Bibles at the Twin Cities Pride Festival, which is held at the 42-acre Loring Park in Minneapolis, this past weekend. The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted him a temporary injunction on Thursday.

According to the Star Tribune, Johnson attended the 40th annual Pride Fest with his family and a suitcase full of Bibles. He spent several hours passing out the books while, at the advice of his attorneys, he was filmed by his adult son in order to document his interaction with others at the event.

“I do this once a year. I talk to people about the love of Jesus Christ,” he told the Tribune.

Johnson filed his appeal after the U.S. District Court in Minnesota decided in favor of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), which sought to allow Johnson the opportunity to distribute Bibles only within a certain zone at the event.

Johnson began handing out Bibles at the festival in 1995, and for about a decade he did so by setting up a booth alongside other vendors and nonprofit organizations. In 2009, though, the situation changed when Pride Fest officials denied his request to set up a booth. Read more

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