Nine preachers were arrested Saturday protesting New Orleans' 41st annual gay mardi gras, Southern Decadence.

The anti-gay preachers carried signs which read “Homo Sex Is Sin” and “Homo Sex Is A Threat To National Security.”

Eight protesters were arrested on suspicion of aggressive solicitation, according to The Times-Picayune's website, Nola.com.

The ordinance, approved in October, prohibits “any person or group of persons to loiter or congregate on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social, political or religious message between the hours of sunset and sunrise.”

According to police, the men ignored previous warnings not to use bullhorns. A ninth man, Justin Craft, 31, allegedly punched an officer when he attempted to confiscate his bullhorn. He was arrested on suspicion of battery, resisting an officer and interfering with a law enforcement investigation, Nola.com reported.

In a clip uploaded to YouTube.com, Ruben Israel of OfficialStreetPreachers.com denied that there was any “pushing and shoving involved” and insisted that “this whole thing is just simply to send a message.”

He added that 19 people participated in the protest.

(Related: Gay festival Southern Decadence to blame for Hurricane Isaac.)