Is street preaching free speech?

It seems that in the Harrisburg area that we have something of an anomaly these days, a street preacher.  You just don’t see that much anymore.  And if more people had the courage to do what Stephen Garisto is doing in the Central Dauphin School District area, maybe the Word of God would be heard by more people.  This street preaching, however, is not without controversy – and yes we Christians should expect that anytime the Word is proclaimed, or any religious symbols are shown in public we should expect someone to lay the smack down on it.

Mr. Garisto has been preaching on a street corner, on public property, at a CD school bus stop where it is reported that high school and middle school kids get on and off the bus.  This has raised the ire of some parents who think that Mr. Garisto is some kind of lunatic preying on their children’s soul.  They (the parents) are likening Mr. Garisto to some kind of pedophile because he talks to children about the Bible and Jesus Christ and have sought a court injunction to make him stop doing it.  Dauphin County Judge Jeannine Turgeon, to her credit, is taking some time to review this constitutional issue of free speech on public property.  However, she did chastise Mr. Garisto’s behavior as some what suspicious in his motives even though there is no evidence what so ever to support those malicious comments on his street preaching.  Judge Turgeon, much to the delight of the parents, did grant a temporary injunction against the evangelist, to stop preaching in that area of Penbrook.

 Many parents have made the claim that Garisto has been “harassing” them in their children by passing out tracts and exercising his right to free speech to talk about the Christ, while many parents have “heckled” him.  It has been my experience that street preachers always get heckled by non believers but anti war protesters in the Bush era were somehow always praised for their exercise of freedom of speech.  It seems to be a grossly hypocritical claim.  One parent commented that there is a time and a place for everything and a street corner is not the place to evangelize.  I wonder how they would know that.  My guess is that those parents making the claim that religion is only for churches has ever even darkened the door of one.  I’m glad that someone has the courage to stand up to the unbelievers and proudly proclaim the Word of God, no matter what the consequences are.  Nobody said the great commission of going forth and making disciples of all nations would be easy.