September 16, 2008
Local newspapers can be a great source of community information. Some residents in the Midwest, though, grew more and more appalled at what they kept seeing in the classified section of one of their local papers…sex for sale. What may be more shocking is what happened when they complained.
Wanting to put an end to the publication of explicit ads by a local publication,
City Beat, a large coalition of Cincinnati, Ohio, pro-family organizations, civic leaders, and supporters politely asked the paper to stop running the material. Organized by Citizens for Community Values (CCV), they held a press conference to announce the release of a joint letter requesting that the paper’s publisher stop accepting and publishing the offensive ads. Backing up their claims, they noted local police records that showed “many of the arrests made relating to prostitution, solicitation…result from phone calls placed to numbers listed under the ‘adult’ services category of
City Beat.”
Instead of courteously responding to these community leaders, within 48 hours of that press conference, the publisher, Lightborne Publishing, sued. The company alleged that the dozens of pro-family leaders conspired to violate its free speech rights and diminish profits by voicing concerns about thinly-veiled ads for prostitution and other sex services.
“
Pro-family organizations have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else in America,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. “
Voicing opposition to what a newspaper publishes is not a conspiracy—it’s free speech protected by the First Amendment. Ironically, Lightborne Publishing is suing to deny pro-family organizations and citizens the same rights that it is demanding for itself. Those who push sex-for-sale ads cannot silence people who exercise their constitutional right to object.”
Thanks to the consistent financial support from our dedicated ministry friends, ADF attorneys are representing 31 pastors and pro-family leaders in this case, free of charge. We have also filed a motion to dismiss this lawsuit. You can read a copy of the brief supporting the motion to dismiss the case by
clicking here.
We applaud the dozens of leaders in Cincinnati who have taken a stand against this sexually-oriented business hiding behind newsprint. By God’s grace, the courts will see this lawsuit for what it is and dismiss it. Hopefully,
City Beat will also reverse its course and cease to publish these questionable classifieds. With your prayerful support and God’s blessing, we will fight this battle and win!