Last Chance For Hitching Post, City

A U.S. District Court judge has given both parties in a lawsuit filed by The Hitching Post against the city of Coeur d’Alene one more chance to reach a resolution before trial. Attorneys for the city filed a motion on Jan. 28 asking for lawsuit proceedings to be delayed until March 10. In his ruling on the motion Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush gave attorneys involved in the suit until Feb. 27 to find a solution. “This being the third stay, no additional stays will be granted,” Bush wrote in his decision. Lawyers with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian rights legal advocacy organization, filed the suit in October on behalf of Don and Evelyn Knapp, the owners of the Hitching Post. The civil rights lawsuit claims the Knapps are being forced to violate their religious beliefs and perform same-sex marriages because of the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance. The city has maintained that the Knapps’ business is exempt under the law. Knapps’ lawyers have remained consistent in their intent to obtain a formal clarification to the ordinance during mediation/ Keith Cousins , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

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