In the next several weeks, WCU will be doing several more prophetic pickets in the Town of Madison on the same overpass.

"We are once again indebted to the folks at the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy for their fine work on behalf of freedom and truth. They truly are unsung heroes of America's culture war. The best way to protect our liberties is to exercise them, and thus we will be returning to the Town of Madison in the near future to unfurl our banners on their pedestrian overpass on Hwy 12-18. Now all we will have to watch out for is the angry homosexuals and their friends, such as the one who tried to destroy our banner the last time we put it up at that spot."
           Pastor Ralph Ovadal, Director, Wisconsin Christians United

American Family Association
Center for Law and Policy
P.O. Drawer 2440
Tupelo, Mississippi 38803

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2002    

Contact:
Michael J. DePrimo
Litigation Counsel
662/680-3886

LAWSUIT TRIGGERS REPEAL OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT ORDINANCE

TUPELO, MS.-The Town of Madison, Wisconsin, repealed its disorderly conduct ordinance within days of the filing of a federal lawsuit by the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy ("Center"). The lawsuit alleged that the ordinance violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and that the town practiced illegal viewpoint discrimination. The Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ralph Ovadal, a local pastor and pro-family advocate.

The lawsuit was sparked by the arrest of two of Ovadal's associates, who were cited for alleged disorderly conduct because an unidentified male was offended by a banner they were displaying on a highway overpass, which declared, "Homosexuality is a sin." Ironically, it was Ovadal's associates who called police in the first place to complain that an unidentified male was attempting to rip the banner from their grasp. The charges against Ovadal's associates were subsequently dismissed.

"It is well-established that government cannot censor speech because it disagrees with the message proclaimed," said Center Litigation Counsel Michael J. DePrimo, Ovadal's attorney. "We find it particularly ironic that Madison, a hotbed of liberalism, would use its police power to squelch debate on a matter of great public importance. These arrests demonstrate that the real aim, indeed the legacy, of the political correctness movement is conformity of thought through rigorous censorship," he added.

The Center is the legal arm of the American Family Association, Inc., located in Tupelo, Mississippi, and is an ally of the Alliance Defense Fund, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona. The Center restricts its practice to constitutional litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country.

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