Ruling on a lawsuit brought by preachers protesting gay-pride activities, U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell said on Dec. 2 that the ordinances hindered protesters' free-speech rights without serving any government interest. But Caldwell refused to find the city had misused the state's disorderly conduct statute to arrest the protesters when they got out of hand.

The nine plaintiffs filed suit against the city and Mayor Stephen R. Reed earlier this year after a two-year string of incidents in which they clashed with authorities, mostly at gay-pride events.