MISSOURI
Talk Radio News Service
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Missouri law that makes it unlawful to disrupt a church service with profane language or indecent behavior violates the First Amendment because it is not content-neutral. The law was challenged by two organizations that make regular appearances at Catholic churches to protest sexual abuse by priests and to support the ordination of women priests. Missouri’s “House of Worship Protection Act,” which was enacted in 2012, requires authorities to examine the content of speech to determine if it rises to the level of a violation of the law.
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