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A view of the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk taken in September. A Ewing man is suing the town, saying they infringed his First Amendment rights by asking for multiple forms so he could hold religious signs and hand out Christian literature this past summer.
(Noah K. Murray for Inside Jersey)
POINT PLEASANT BEACH — A Ewing man is suing Point Pleasant Beach, saying the town made him jump through extra hoops to hold signs and speak about his Christian beliefs during peak summer times on the borough's boardwalk.
Joseph Paolella asked the borough for permission to exercise his Christian belief, hold a sign at the side of the boardwalk, speak about God and hand out religious literature to those who expressed interest, according to his lawsuit.
However, the borough asked him to fill out forms including a hold harmless agreement, a religious activities application, a memorandum of understanding, and a proof of insurance document, which effectively violated his First Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendant’s policies, practices and customs governing religious speech and expression on the Boardwalk impermissibly single out religious speech for disfavored treatment (and) are not narrowly tailored to serve any significant or compelling governmental interest in in regulating speech in a traditional public forum,” the lawsuit claims.
Mayor Vincent Barrella said he couldn't comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but said the borough's protocols for demonstrating were legal.
"I'm confident what we have in place is appropriate," the mayor said. "It's not something we have in place for one group, and not for another."
Kevin Riordan, the borough's attorney, said in his years as borough attorney there are approximately one or two religious requests per year for parts of the boardwalk, which is a public space for its entire length.
The suit was filed on Paolella's behalf by the American Center for Law and Justice, a Virginia-based legal center founded in 1990 by evangelist Pat Robertson.
Edward White, one of the attorneys for the ACLJ on the case, said Paolella has not previously had to sue at any of the various places where he's demonstrated with his message based on the Gospels.
"For the most part, places allow you to do your thing without a lot of government interference," White said.
Paolella alleges in the lawsuit that he contacted the municipal clerk on July 17, and was told on July 22 that he had to fill out the forms. Having to do so violated his rights to speech, religion and assembly under the First Amendment, and also infringe his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and the New Jersey State Constitution, he alleges.
Seth Augenstein can be reached saugenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SethAugenstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.