Wacky Wednesday--Street Preaching Should Be Illegal

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Only the most zealous people engage in it, and it is precisely such people who make the very worst representatives of Christian love and joy.
~Every time I’ve seen street preachers, it has either made me think Christians were all weird (when I was an agnostic) or made me think that this is making all Christians look weird (since I’ve become one).
~Most pastors I personally know have said something to the effect that street preaching just makes their job harder.
~Nobody likes to be accosted when all you’re trying to do is walk down the street and mind your own business.
~Street preachers would be much more useful if they would take their same energy and devote it to serving the community so that the community wants to know why they’re being so generous and sacrificial.
~If it were illegal, then we would also have the security of knowing that false religions also wouldn’t be able to use this tactic.
~What would the crazies at the Westboro cult do if they couldn’t do their highly offensive street preaching?
~Just like a book someone is willing to finance has more likelihood of being accurate and valuable, an evangelist who can earn a church and its support is more likely to not be a flake.
~Preaching repentance is far too serious a business to conduct in such a silly, ineffective way.