XPost: alt.politics.usa.democrat, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics   
   XPost: alt.politics.obama   
   From: fred.cox@usa.com   
      
   The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that an Arizona town   
   violated a local church's free speech rights by preventing it   
   from posting signs notifying the public of its worship services.   
      
   The court decided 9-0 in favor of Good News Community Church,   
   which objected to its treatment by town officials in Gilbert,   
   Arizona.   
      
   Justice Clarence Thomas wrote on behalf of the court that the   
   town's sign ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution's First   
   Amendment, which protects free speech rights, because it favored   
   certain forms of speech over others.   
      
   The church's signs directing people to services were deemed to   
   be event signs, which meant they received "far worse treatment"   
   than other types, including those displaying political and   
   ideological messages, its lawyers said.   
      
   Thomas wrote that the town had failed to justify why limits on   
   event signs were needed while similar restrictions were not   
   imposed on, for example, ideological signs.   
      
   "If anything, a sharply worded ideological sign seems more   
   likely to distract a driver than a sign directing the public to   
   a nearby church meeting," Thomas said.   
      
   The church's leader, Pastor Clyde Reed, challenged the town's   
   2008 sign ordinance, which had different categories based on   
   content that determine the sign's size, where it can be placed   
   and how long it can be displayed.   
      
   “Speech discrimination is wrong regardless of whether the   
   government intended to violate the First Amendment or not, and   
   it doesn’t matter if the government thinks its discrimination   
   was well-intended," said attorney David Cortman of the Christian   
   legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the   
   church.   
      
   Michael Hamblin, the town's attorney, said Gilbert "looks   
   forward to the opportunity to review its own regulations to make   
   necessary changes consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision."   
      
   The only supporters for the town were groups representing local   
   government, which said in court papers the ordinance was legal   
   in part because the restriction imposed on the church was the   
   same one that other churches and civic groups advertising public   
   events were bound by.   
      
   "Today's decision by the Supreme Court wreaks havoc on the   
   ability of local governments to implement sign code regulations   
   that are responsive to the needs of their communities," said   
   Clarence Anthony, the chief executive of the National League of   
   Cities.   
      
   The Supreme Court reversed a 2013 ruling in which the 9th U.S.   
   Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the church's challenge.   
      
   A new, less restrictive ordinance was enacted in 2011.   
      
   The case is Reed v. Gilbert, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 13-502.   
      
   http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/18/us-usa-court-church-   
   idUSKBN0OY1WB20150618   
      
       
      
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