Christian tracts censored at tribute to vets - Pastor asked to leave

A Maryland church pastor attending a July 4th community band concert and fireworks in a city park to honor veterans is reporting he was told by officials to leave, because he was handing out Gospel tracts. Dennis L. Watson, an associate minister at Pleasant View Baptist Church, initially revealed his experience at the publicly funded festival in North East, Md., on a website for a men's group, called Men of Valor. He called it a "slap in the face" to the veterans whose heroics were being honored at the "Salute to Cecil County Veterans" because of the fervent belief of those who founded the United States that "We have no king but King Jesus." "The reason that I mention this is because as I took the opportunity to pass out tracts at the event I was asked to stop because a public park that the taxpayers of Cecil County [paid for] and for which our soldiers have died was considered rented property and not a public venue for that night," he wrote. Cecil County manager Alfred Wein said that it was a separate group that obtained permission to use the city park, and therefore it was a private event. However, when told that the county had allocated $2,500 from its tax budget for the event, he said he would have to check. City officials in North East referred to a mail box set up for the committee that ran the event, and telephone calls to Carol England, identified by the city as the director of the event, went unreturned. Watson said that he had gone to the event with family and friends and it was a wonderful tribute to veterans. He said he was handing out a variety of tracts, including "million-dollar bills" as well as those saying "ticket" to heaven. "I was asking [people] if they wanted them or not. Some would say yes, and thank you, and some would say no." Then unidentified officials for the city approached him and told him to leave. "So I went outside the gate, then passed out some more tracts, but they told me, 'You're still on private property because of the event, go out there to the street,' which is what I did."