An unusual First Amendment fight has erupted in Houston where lawyers for the city have raised alarm bells among conservative religious leaders after subpoenaing sermons delivered by several local pastors.

The legal clash stems from a voter lawsuit against the city over its rejection of citizen petitions that were filed to repeal an equal rights ordinance approved by Houstons City Council in May.

Pro bono attorneys representing Houston have demanded copies of sermons and other speeches given by five pastors and religious leaders who have spoken out against the ordinance, which bans racial and sexual orientation discriminationin city employment and contracting, housing and public accommodations.

A subpoena on Pastor Steve Riggle, senior pastor of Grace Community Church, asks for all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to [the equal rights ordinance], the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.

Alliance Defending Freedom, a national conservative legal group, filed a motion on Monday in Harris County district court objecting to the records request on First Amendment grounds.

City council members are supposed to be public servants, not Big Brother overlords who will tolerate no dissent or challenge, ADF senior legal counsel Erik Stanley said. In this case, they have embarked upon a witch-hunt, and we are asking the court to put a stop to it.

But in a breaking development Wednesday, Houston Mayor Annise Parker appeared to be backing away from the initial requests. Janice Evans, a city spokeswoman, told Law Blog in a statement:

Mayor Parker agrees with those who are concerned about the city legal departments subpoenas for pastors sermons. The subpoenas were issued by pro bono attorneys helping the city prepare for the trial regarding the petition to repeal the new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) in January. Neither the mayor nor City Attorney David Feldman were aware the subpoenas had been issued until yesterday. Both agree the original documents were overly broad. The city will move to narrow the scope during an upcoming court hearing. Feldman says the focus should be only on communications related to the HERO petition process.

Houston City Attorney David Feldman suggested to the Houston Chronicle in a story published Tuesday that the documents demanded by the city could shed light on the extent to which signature gatherers opposing the ordinance were aware of the rules governing the referendum process.

Reports the Chronicle:

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Houston Mayor Says Citys Sermon Subpoenas Came as a Surprise