Pot proponents, church leaders clash at Wichita polling place

Police responded to a disagreement between marijuana proponents and the leadership of a Wichita church serving as a polling place for the 4th Congressional District special election on Tuesday.

Pot proponents asking voters to sign a petition seeking to relax Wichita marijuana laws were asked by the leadership of the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 1101 N. River Blvd., to move, said Tabitha Lehman, Sedgwick County’s election commissioner.

The disagreement led to someone calling the police – Wichita officers received a call at about 10:30 a.m. – and a visit from Lehman.

Just after noon, a handful of petitioners were seen on the church’s sidewalk, a few steps from the entrance to the temporary polling place.

“Some folks with the church felt like we didn’t have the right to be on their property to collect signatures,” said petitioner Tom James. “They threatened to call the police.”

“At about the same time the police came, Tabitha Lehman came over and explained to the church that this property is rented out to the public for the purpose of the election.”

When she visited, Lehman said, she didn’t notice anything inappropriate. Sgt. Nikki Woodrow said officers talked with both parties, deduced that no laws were being violated, and left.

“They are allowed to be on the sidewalk,” Lehman said. “We have alerted the church to the county and city’s opinions. We will most likely have to find a new polling location before the next election.”

Pastor Peter Jacobson said the church asked that the petitioners move farther away from the polling place entrance to a public sidewalk that runs along River Boulevard.

“There were people who were complaining to us about (the petitioners’ presence),” Jacobson said. “We asked them if they might be willing to move, and they weren’t happy with that. It was not so very pleasant. That’s probably the best way to put it.”

Jacobson said he expects the topic to come up the next time church leadership meets. He said he didn’t know who called the police.

On April 4, a group of marijuana proponents told the City Council that they planned to launch a new petition drive to relax penalties for possession of the drug. By early Tuesday afternoon, James said, several hundred signatures had been gathered by petitioners at the Gloria Dei location.

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Pot proponents, church leaders clash at Wichita polling place."