Conference plan questioned

Salt Lake City would impede street preachers making claims against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but wouldn't restrict groups with a pro-LDS message, City Attorney Ed Rutan said in federal court Tuesday.

Rutan's comments seemed to startle U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell, who responded that allowing pro-LDS speakers less restriction than anti-LDS speakers was tantamount to the city favoring one point of view over another.

"You've thrown into question everything you've told me before," Campbell said.

But Rutan argued the city's designs were basically content-neutral because they still would allow anti-LDS groups to voice their opinions. They would just have to do it while surrounded by a gate or other impediment, thereby lessening the chance of arguing or fights.

"We would give them the same area, but we would look at the question of whether we would need to have buffering around that area," Rutan said.

Campbell wondered why the city was only now attempting to use buffering impediments and place street preachers in protest areas for general conference.

After all, Campbell said, preachers and conferencegoers have been existing together under existing city law for years.

Her questions came as part of her deliberations on a restraining order sought by the World Wide Street Preachers Fellowship. The group is challenging the city's "buffer zone" plan for the LDS Church's annual general conference this weekend.

The fellowship is seeking a temporary restraining order barring the city from establishing physical zones where preachers must stand while preaching during the most crowded times of conference weekend.

The court filing came after Salt Lake City released details of its plan to create free-speech zones across the street from the LDS Conference Center where preachers would have to stand when holding signs.

When changing locations, preachers would be allowed to cross the street and mingle with conferencegoers, but those preachers would have to stay moving and not block pedestrian traffic. Also, on the conference side of North Temple, a small zone would be designated where preachers could stand while holding signs.

Rutan said two minor scuffles at the LDS Church's October conference caused the city to rethink its free-speech-zone logistics.