ALBANY, N.Y.  — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have submitted an application to appeal the state’s conviction of a Christian arrested while praying in an Elmira public park during a 2007 ‘gay pride’ event.  The status of the appeal is now in the hands of state’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals.  Earlier this month, a New York county court dismissed the convictions of three other Christians arrested and charged after praying at the same event.

“Christians shouldn’t be punished for expressing their religious beliefs.  It’s ridiculous to consider the act of peacefully exercising one’s faith in a public park to be ‘disorderly conduct,’” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster.  “The county court was correct in dismissing three of the convictions. They never should have happened. We are hopeful that the New York Court of Appeals will dismiss the fourth.”

On June 23, 2007, seven Christians, including Julian and Gloria Raven, entered Wisner Park in Elmira with their heads bowed to pray for the participants of the “gay pride” event.  Materials advertising the event stated that it was open to the public and that all were invited.

The group made their way to an area in front of the stage and began to pray silently while lying prostrate in the grass.  A police sergeant had earlier informed Julian Raven that he could not enter the public park, walk through the park, or talk to anyone in the park about his religion. After the group began to pray silently on their faces, all were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

In 2008, the Elmira City Court found all four defendants guilty of disorderly conduct. Additionally, each was charged a $100 fine and ordered to pay court costs.

Attorney Laurence Behr of Buffalo is serving as local counsel in the case, People of the State of New York v. Raven.