City Civil Service Commission Attorney Gilbert Buras says some 8,000 civil service employees may publicly support or oppose Mayor Marc Morial’s campaign to change the city charter, allowing him to run for a third consecutive term.

  The Link, the newsletter published by the city Civil Service Department, notes that while the third-term charter change proposal is closely tied to the mayor, the issue "goes beyond the scope of an individual candidate" to the way in which New Orleans is governed.

  In the newsletter, Buras warns, however, that state law banning employee participation distinguishes between support for candidates, on one hand, and the support of issues, like tax referenda, on the other hand. "[C]lassified employees may say, ‘I support the idea of third terms.’ They may even say ‘I support/oppose the idea of Marc Morial running for a third term as Mayor.’ They may not say, ‘I support/oppose Marc Morial for a third term as mayor.’"

  Buras tells Gambit Weekly that his legal opinion is based on a case that grew out of the late Mayor Dutch Morial’s own campaign for a third term in 1985. The Civil Service Commission ruled then that city employees could not participate in campaigns for or against the elder Morial’s third term drive. However, firefighters union president William Sanchez appealed that decision, and the state Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in his favor, allowing employees to speak out either for or against the elder Morial’s third term drive. City workers may voice their feelings in the current campaign, Buras says, but they must confine their remarks to the charter drive as an issue – not to the candidacy of the mayor.

  Also in The Link, Pamela Davis, the employee representative on the Civil Service Commission, wrote a letter telling co-workers they should not be afraid if approached by the media for their thoughts on the mayor’s campaign. "You should be honest and candid about your experiences within New Orleans municipal government," Davis wrote. "Indeed, whether you realize it or not, you may make an excellent ‘spokesperson’ about the mayor’s third term initiative." .

CORRECTIONS: In last week’s summer restaurant guide, we incorrectly stated that Russell’s Short Stop Po-boys accepts credit cards; they do not. Also, we listed an incorrect phone number for Foodies Kitchen; the correct number is 837-9699. Gambit Weekly regrets the errors.

California-based gay rights group is planning a series of non-violent demonstrations that are expected to result in carefully planned mass arrests next week outside of the Louisiana Superdome, where 10,000 members of the Southern Baptist Convention will be meeting.

  An estimated 50 to 60 members of Soulforce – a self-described interfaith network of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender individuals, and their local allies – are gathering to protest what they call the anti-gay teachings of Southern Baptists.

  A New Orleans Police Department spokesman says NOPD is working with both sides, "so there won’t be any surprises."

  Soulforce is planning two days of prayer vigils culminating in a mock jazz funeral march around the Dome to "mourn for gay Southern Baptists," a spokesperson for the gay rights group says. The procession begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 13, at the north end of the Superdome entry ramp on Poydras Street. A press conference follows at noon, then a civil disobedience action resulting in mass arrests designed to draw attention to discrimination against gays.

  The Rev. Dexter Brecht, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Greater New Orleans, says, "We are confident that residents of New Orleans will open their hearts and their homes to Soulforce and join with them in the non-violent protests against the anti-gay teachings that lead to suffering and death."

  The Southern Baptist Convention has long opposed homosexuality through resolutions adopted at its annual conventions. A spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention could not be reached by press time. In a message posted on the organization’s Web site, James Merritt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, says the convention’s agenda will focus on evangelism and missions.

  "I believe this is going to be one of the most exciting conventions we have had in many, many years," Merritt states. "We are going to do everything we can to keep [the convention] focused like a laser beam on evangelism and missions, and people are going to see some of the fresh and unique things we are doing in those areas."

  New Orleans police are working with both organizations to ensure a peaceful protest, says police spokesman Lt. Marlon Defillo. "We have been meeting with the representatives of both organizations, particularly Soulforce, explaining to them as well to their attorneys, the parameters we will allow them to protest under," Defillo says. "The dialogue has been open … and we have a plan in place to address civil disobedience."

  The convention runs from June 12-13.