A veterans group with backing from the region’s top federal prosecutor can’t force Philadelphia to permit parades during a pandemic, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
In an 11-page decision, U.S. District Judge Nitza Quiñones-Alejandro denied a request for preliminary injunction filed in October by the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Society, noting “this pandemic has wreaked havoc worldwide, prompting national and local governments to enforce lockdowns and impose strict restrictions on interpersonal gatherings in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.”
The veterans group, which participates in parades with an honor guard and rifle teams, said Mayor Jim Kenney’s ban on large-scale events like the Mummers Parade and Thanksgiving Day Parade violated its right to free speech and assembly under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Kenney announced the ban in mid-July in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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