Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 1, 1995                   TAG: 9507030037
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RELIGIOUS GROUP'S POLITICAL-SPEECH RIGHTS PROTECTED

A Federal Election Commission lawsuit that could have expanded the government's authority to restrict political speech has been dismissed by a federal judge.

The FEC had filed suit against Lynchburg's Christian Action Network, which ran commercials before the 1992 presidential election highlighting Bill Clinton's position on gay rights. The FEC claimed the commercial was intended to get people to vote against Clinton and so was subject to federal election statutes.

But U.S. District Judge James Turk ruled that the commercial did not fall within the narrow guidelines that define what kind of political speech can be regulated.

``The court appreciates that the FEC is in the precarious position of attempting to thwart the misuse of corporate funds to back or discredit candidates, while at the same time attempting to avoid undue government regulation of protected political speech,'' Turk wrote. ``Drawing that line has never been easy.''

But the Christian Action Network's ad did not ``expressly advocate'' Clinton's defeat and so is not subject to FEC regulation, Turk wrote.

Corporations and groups that distribute ads supporting or opposing the election of candidates must register as political action committees with the FEC and are subject to rigorous financial disclosure requirements.

Christian Action Network president Martin Mawyer said he was ``extraordinarily pleased'' with the decision, which the FEC has not decided whether to appeal.

``It's going to send a clear message to both parties'' that they can't use the FEC as a tool for political battles, Mawyer said.

The Democratic Party filed a complaint with the FEC against the Christian Action Network in October 1992, and the commission began a review of the commercial shortly afterward.

Larry Sabato, a political observer from the University of Virginia, agreed with the ruling.

``This case proves again how difficult it is to enforce rules on that subject,'' he said. ``Generally speaking, the courts have given wide latitude to political speech. And political speech is the most highly held kind of speech.''

The 30-second commercial charged that Clinton supported job quotas for homosexuals and that Al Gore was for marriage and adoption by gay couples.

One scene in the ad showed two men arm-in-arm, one holding a leash wrapped around the other's neck. In another scene, a shouting man sported a T-shirt reading ``Gay Father.'' A voice-over asked viewers if this was their vision of a better America.

The FEC acknowledged that the commercial didn't use any of the words that courts have said are necessary to show express advocacy, but argued that the strong images, the music and the colors all contributed to reach that threshold. Turk rejected that argument.

``If the courts were to begin considering the images created by a communication to determine if a call to electoral action was present, the likelihood that protected speech would be chilled would be far greater,'' he wrote.

Christian Action Network is a nonprofit organization started five years ago by Mawyer, a former Moral Majority employee. It raised $1.6 million last year, has a full-time Capitol Hill lobbyist and says it concentrates on supporting ``traditional family values.''

Keywords:
POLITICS