ICLU sues city of Gary

The city of Gary has been about dueling with the Ku Klux Klan over a planned rally since mid-January.\nNow, it's going to the courts.\nThe Indiana Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit on the Klan's behalf, alleging the city violated the constitutional rights of the Klansmen. \nThe Butler-based American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan sought to have a rally Jan. 20, which Gary Mayor Scott King blocked with an executive order requiring a 45-day waiting period. \nPreviously, the waiting period had been seven days.\nAlleging violations of the First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly, the suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Hammond would bar the city from enforcing the waiting period.\nDenying several other applicants, King granted a permit for the Baptist Ministers Conference to stage a counter-rally that Saturday. Members gathered on the steps of city hall, held a prayer service and dispersed.\nThe Klan reapplied for a permit through a Lake County court Jan. 28. Its request was denied. It warned the city it would take legal action if a permit wasn't granted.\n"Cleveland tried stopping us," said Imperial Wizard John Berry of Newville. "And it cost them $1 million. If the mayor wants to waste that money, it's up to him."\nThe Klan would convene for a "First Amendment rally," Berry said. Rather than address the subject of white pride, Berry said the Klansmen would discuss crime, drugs and the riverboats.\n"The mayor tries to make this out to be a racist thing," he said. \nKen aFalk, ICLU legal director, said the waiting period is unreasonable. \n"Any restrictions on the First Amendment have to be reasonable," he said. "In Chicago, the wait is seven days and that can be reduced."\nAnd King's executive order specifically targets the Klan, Falk said.\n"The order is not neutral," he said. "It's in response to the Klan and it's discrimination."\nThe city denies that this is the case.\nGary city attorney Jim Meyer said the policy has as much to do with the number of anti-Klan groups that wanted to hold counter-rallies.\n"The time period has to be long enough for the police to investigate and the mayor to make a decision," he said. "We believe the policy is constitutional."\nMeyer said the city is not discriminating against the Klan.\n"We treat everyone the same," he said. "The mayor discussed his plans for the executive order with me before they applied for the permit."\nThe Klan could stage a rally without a permit, but it would not be allowed police protection.