News
2005-12-14
Judge: Banning
antigay banners is not free speech violation
A Wisconsin
minister's free speech rights were not violated when Madison
police told him to remove antigay banners from highw
A Wisconsin
minister's free speech rights were not violated when Madison
police told him to remove antigay banners from highway
overpasses, a federal judge ruled. U.S. district judge
John Shabaz told the Reverend Ralph Ovadal of Monroe,
chairman of Wisconsin Christians United, that
testimony in the trial of his lawsuit against the city
showed that the "spectacle" created by the banners on
September 2, 2003, created a traffic hazard by
causing traffic to slow.
"But there is
nothing that suggests it was the message" that caused
the dangerous slowdown or caused police to ask demonstrators
to leave, Shabaz said Monday. "There's no evidence to
suggest it was the message. None whatsoever. People
were asked to leave [the overpasses] only because of
the narrow circumstances.... You can't do it at rush
hour. It isn't the message we [motorists] don't like, it's
the fact that we can't get home on time."
Ovadal said it
was likely he would appeal. "The bottom line is, based
on traffic congestion caused by a minor accident up the
road, and based on angry reactions to our message, we
were banned from sharing our message. I believe the
appeals court will see that," he said. "I think the
city very skillfully manipulated the facts."
Shabaz had
previously denied a temporary injunction that would have
barred Madison police from ordering the removal of the
banners. The judge said such a move would have
prevented police from ensuring public safety. But the
seventh U.S. circuit court of appeals in Chicago ruled in
July that Ovadal had a constitutional right to display
banners on the overpasses, despite the reactions of
drivers who caused traffic problems.
Judge Michael
Kanne said in writing for the three-judge panel that,
although homosexuality is a contentious issue, unpopular
speech is protected by the First Amendment. The
Madison city council has since adopted an ordinance
banning any display of banners or signs on the
overpasses, other than traffic signs. The ordinance is
effective January 1. The case was sent back to Shabaz.
Kanne told the trial court to explore whether the ban
on Ovadal was narrowly tailored and content-neutral
and whether anyone else with a different message would
have been barred from doing the same thing. (AP)
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