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The plaintiffs include Charles Spingola and Thomas Meyer, who were convicted in Franklin County Environmental Court and fined $100 each for the misdemeanor charge of open burning without a permit. They were arrested in 2001 in violation of their First Amendment right to free speech because city officials are hostile to people who may offend the gay community, the plaintiffs argued.

On Tuesday, a three-member panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati agreed that the plaintiffs had ground to sue over Columbus' permit application process, which Spingola and Meyer complained was confusing and burdensome. But the court rejected the plaintiffs' claim of selective enforcement and denied efforts by Spingola and Meyer to seek damages.

Spingola and Meyer were joined in the lawsuit by David Daubenmire, founder of a Christian group called Pass the Salt Ministries who was denied a city permit to burn the rainbow-colored flag outside a federal courthouse in 2004 along with a copy of the Quran and copies of U.S. Supreme Court decisions "viewed by Christians as undermining Biblical morality," court documents said.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Thomas Condit of Cincinnati, said yesterday that the appeals court ruling is a First Amendment victory that will ultimately require the city of Columbus to adopt a clear policy that lets demonstrators get burning permits "without being mercilessly jerked around."

A message seeking comment was left yesterday with the Columbus city attorney's office.

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