From Judge Waverly Crenshaw (M.D. Tenn.) Monday in Wattenbarger v. City of Crossville (M.D. Tenn.):
"Queers stay away from our children. You're ruining America." That was one of several messages Wattenbarger displayed on banners affixed to his truck and horse trailer as he drove through a pride festival in Crossville, Tennessee in June 2023. Others included "Stop Sexualizing Our Children," "What is a Woman," and "Make Noise For A Queer Free America."
Whatever one thinks of that sentiment, the First Amendment protects speech on matters of public concern. Wattenbarger had the right to express it. The question … is whether the City violated that right when it arrested Wattenbarger, not for that expression, but for parallel parking his pickup truck and horse trailer across multiple spaces in front of the courthouse where the festival was being held….
