News
2006-10-03
Supreme Court
rejects lawsuit over antigay ads
The Supreme Court
on Monday refused to consider a lawsuit by a
conservative group blocked from airing ads about same-sex
marr
The Supreme Court
on Monday refused to consider a lawsuit by a
conservative group blocked from airing ads about same-sex
marriage.
Last spring the
Christian Civic League of Maine attempted to run ads
about the state's two U.S. senators, but a three-judge panel
of the U.S. district court in Washington, D.C., halted
the effort, and the Supreme Court refused to step in
at the time. On Monday the high court issued a
one-line order saying the appeal is dismissed as moot.
Federal election
law bars corporations or labor unions from paying for
any radio or TV broadcast referring to a candidate for
federal office within 30 days of a federal primary
election or 60 days of a general election. The league
had wanted to run the ads in time for the Senate
debate on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex
marriage.
The proposal was
defeated June 7. The proposed ad asked the public to
call Maine's two senators, Republicans Olympia Snowe and
Susan Collins, and urge them to vote for the
amendment. Snowe is running unopposed.
The Christian
Civic League asked the Supreme Court to consider whether
the prohibition violates the group's free speech rights. The
Federal Election Commission and key lawmakers in
Congress said the group's appeal is moot because the
preliminary injunction sought last spring would no
longer have any effect. The league asked for the injunction
against ''electioneering communication'' provisions of
the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. (AP)
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