In DAYTON? Methinks not.

This is one poorly written story, frankly. It's entirely unclear from it why they were arrested. Presumably, it has to do with carrying some gigantic object around and protesting without a permit, though, rather than the fact that they're Christians.

If permits are required to protest or demonstrate publicly in Dayton, and they didn't obtain one, and they refused to disperse when asked, then they're clearly in the wrong. Well, assuming 2 guys walking around with 2 10 foot wooden crosses constitutes a protest or demonstration; I'd have to know how the local laws define those terms. Does ONE guy with a cross constitute a demonstration or protest? What about one guy with a Bible? Or just one guy with nothing, walking up to people on the sidewalk and talking about Jesus? Is that a demonstration you'd need a permit for?

My hunch is that the police arrested them because they they thought their presence could conceivably start trouble, not because they were really breaking any laws. If that's the case, I hope there are enourmous lawsuits and that people lose jobs.

I'm a non-religious person and more often than not, Christian fundamentalists and I are on opposite sides of issues. However, this sort of thuggish suppression of free speech scares the bejeebus out of me.

If the "Gay Day" folks had a permit, then these two men with their crosses had every right to be there. A permit to hold a PUBLIC demonstration event automatically gives the right to people to attend that event who disagree with it.