SAN FRANCISCO (ABP) — A federal appeals court ruled Feb. 25 that Montana officials violated the free-speech rights of a Southern Baptist church when they required the congregation to register as a political action committee for supporting a ballot initiative against gay marriage in 2004.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not address the constitutionality of a Montana law that labels groups not specifically organized to influence elections but that by making a contribution or expenditure on behalf of a candidate or issue become an "incidental political committee" and requires reporting and financial disclosure.
A three-judge panel did say, however, Montana's commissioner of political practices erred in applying the law to Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in East Helena with about 200 members.
Judges said the church's actions — sponsoring a video against gay marriage and encouraging members and guest to sign petitions supporting defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman in the state constitution — were so minimal they were unworthy of the state's attention.
The Alliance Defense Fund, which assisted in the church's defense, called the ruling a major victory that could embolden other churches to take a stand on ballot initiatives in the future.
"Churches shouldn't be penalized for expressing their beliefs," said Dale Schowengerdt, legal counsel for the ADF, a Christian legal group formed in 1994 to counter the American Civil Liberties Union. "They should never be forced to forfeit their free speech rights just because the government decides to enact unconstitutional laws requiring them to remain silent on social issues."
Montana State Solicitor Anthony Johnstone, however, who argued before the appeals court that the church was subject to the disclosure law, said he doubted the ruling would have any broad implications.
Social conservatives often criticize the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently said the federal government could not deprive same-sex couples of benefits offered to married couples as being hostile toward religion.
The three judges unanimously supporting Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church in the Feb. 25 ruling were Circuit Judges Harry Pregerson and William C. Canby Jr., who were appointed to the bench by President Carter, and Senior Circuit Judge John T. Noonan, a Reagan appointee.
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–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
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