The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing the City of Loogootee again over a recent ordinance which it says violates previous court orders and is illegally preventing the city’s annual PrideFest.
The new ordinance passed at the end of 2025. It includes two provisions from a prior ordinance that was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Indiana last August.
The court focused on three provisions of the prior ordinance: a group of 15 people or more have to apply for a permit, the permit had to be applied 45 days in advance, and any events had to take place in the city park or in the city’s new green space area, ACLU Legal Director Ken Falk said.
The new ordinance still includes the regulation of people and permit application provisions. Additionally, it includes one slight change which says that events can occur in the park, in the green space, or with permission, anywhere in the city except within 240 feet of the public square fountain, Falk said. The city’s PrideFest has taken place at the public square fountain for the last three years.
“It's hard not to look at this and say all this effort is an attempt to somehow punish or ban or bar or treat differently the Pride festival because of what it stands for, but from a First Amendment perspective, it doesn't make any difference,” he said.
Falk said, as a result of the last case, the city owed a substantial amount of attorney fees to the ACLU, and with a city that only has about 2,600 people, he thinks this is not the best use of resources.
PrideFest has had about 300 attendees and caused no issues, he said.
The city has not offered an explanation for the ordinance, said Tracy Brown-Salsman, PrideFest organizer and vice president of the Patoka Valley Aids Community Action Group. He said he sees the 240-feet provision as a direct attack to keep PrideFest away from the public square fountain.
“We don't want to go the city park, which is on the other side of town, hidden away… visibility matters. You've got to see us, to appreciate us and to see that we are here,” he said.
The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
