I think the ACLU got this one right. As long as Christianity is not involved, they can be rational:
"Orlando officials Thursday averted a free-speech fight that threatened to overshadow the city's annual Fourth of July celebration. The American Civil Liberties Union was girding for battle in support of an Orlando man who originally was told he wouldn't be allowed to hand out campaign fliers for his favorite presidential candidate at the "Fireworks at the Fountain" show at Lake Eola Park.
"I think it's reprehensible that, on the Fourth of July, you'd be threatened with arrest for passing out literature about a presidential candidate in a public park," said Nick Egoroff, the coordinator for the presidential campaign of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.
"Fireworks at the Fountain" is the city's premier public event, held annually in its signature downtown park. About 125,000 people are expected at this year's gathering, featuring food, drink, music and entertainment spread over six hours.
The city has a contract with Cox Radio Inc. to handle the event, which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Orlando officials say that gives Cox the right to treat the Fourth of July party as a private event. Initially, city officials told Egoroff he couldn't pass out literature unless he rented a booth for $1,500.
Egoroff vowed to do it anyway, even if that meant he would be arrested. In a show of solidarity, the ACLU began inviting groups of all political stripes to hand out fliers, too. "We're going to have at least 10 groups out there, hopefully 20," said the ACLU's George Crossley. "There are going to be Republicans, Democrats, everybody with a cause. People against the war, evangelical Christians -- they'll all be invited to come out and pass out fliers."
As the tension mounted, city officials backed down Thursday, saying they had never dealt with a request like Egoroff's and had simply made a mistake. A Cox representative called it a misunderstanding. Now political activists will be allowed to hand out literature, as long as they don't impede people or threaten public safety.
Source
Political speech was clearly protected in a publicly-owned facility. City officials probably just wanted to keep it non-political but there are no exceptions in the First Amendment.
