HE RAISED A JOHN 3:16 SIGN AT A BASEBALL GAME. WHAT THE POLICE DID IS SHOCKING.....

by Randy DeSoto

Everyone who goes to sporting events in large venues or watches them on television has likely seen the sign “John 3:16” being held by a fan.

Image credit: Skyco/Flickr
It is a biblical reference to the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (NKJV)

According to Biblegateway.com, it is the most popular verse looked up on the site, which had 1.5 billion page views in 2014.

Displaying the sign is just one way some believers like to spread the good news about Jesus Christ.

Gino Emmerich was trying to do so in front of the San Francisco Giants ballpark last summer, when four police officers surrounded and detained him. The officers informed him that he would not be able to exercise his First Amendment right to free speech and threatened to arrest him.

The Rutherford Institute, which is representing Emmerich, described what happened in a statementreleased on Thursday.

On Sunday, July 27, 2014, prior to the start of a Giants v. Dodgers baseball game, Gino Emmerich arrived at Willie Mays Plaza carrying a “John 3:16” sign, a religious reference to a central tenet of Christianity. Other people were in the plaza, some displaying signs and otherwise communicating messages. Also in the plaza was a makeshift broadcast booth put together for a live broadcast and discussion of the Giants v. Dodgers game for ESPN SportsCenter.

As Emmerich neared the broadcast booth, he was approached by one of the show’s producers and four uniformed San Francisco police officers. Emmerich was allegedly warned by the producer that if he showed his sign, he would be arrested based upon the fact that he was known to the producer as one who displays religious signage. After the producer walked away, Emmerich stationed himself in view of the camera, behind the commentators, and held up his John 3:16 sign.

While Emmerich was holding up his sign, a police officer grabbed him from behind by his shirt and neck and moved him out of the view of the camera. Once Emmerich was clear of the cameras, he was surrounded by four police officers and warned, “If you go over there and hold that sign again, we will arrest you and the sergeant will come over here and decide where we are going to take you.” Emmerich then left the plaza as to avoid the possibility of arrest.

“Much of what used to be great about America—especially as it pertains to our love of freedom and our commitment to First Amendment activities—has been overshadowed by a greater desire for security and an inclination towards political correctness,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.

“That this incident, with its police intimidation tactics, overt discrimination and censorship, took place in a public plaza dedicated to Willie Mays, a legendary baseball player who lived through an era of police tactics, discrimination and censorship, is a powerful indictment of all that is wrong with America today,” he added.

In addition to the City and County of San Francisco, the Rutherford Institute is suing the four police officers accused of intimidating Emmerich. Rutherford attorneys note that the officers had no lawful or probable cause to arrest, detain, or seize Emmerich, who was simply trying to exercise his First Amendment rights as an American.



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