Contact: Diane
O'Neal, 662-680-3886
American Family Association
P.O. Drawer 2440
Tupelo, MS 38803
1-662-680-3886
For Immediate Release: 8/7/2006
New York, NY - The American Family Association Center
for Law
& Policy (CLP) announced today that Stephen Crampton, Chief Counsel
for the CLP, will argue a case tomorrow, August 8, at the Second
Circuit Court of Appeals presenting the question whether it is
constitutionally permissible to characterize the Bible as “bigoted” and
to condemn it as conveying “a message of intolerance that is not
welcome” in New York City.
The case arose when a church leased
two billboards in March of 2000 containing four translations of
Leviticus 18:22, which declares homosexual behavior as sinful. The
billboards, which by contract were to remain up for a month, were
covered over within a matter of days after the City and the vocal
homosexual community complained that the billboards were offensive and
should not be allowed.
Guy Molinari, then Borough President of
Staten Island, where the billboards were located, wrote a letter to the
owner of the billboards telling it that the scriptures were “not
welcome” in the City and urging disclosure of the sponsor of the
message. On the same day, the billboard owner covered up the scriptures
and simultaneously released the name of the sponsor, Pastor Kristopher
Okwedy of Keyword Ministries.
Pastor Okwedy, a Nigerian
immigrant, immediately began receiving hateful messages and even death
threats from those who found the message offensive. But although the
City’s Bias Crimes Task Force investigated Okwedy for alleged “hate
speech” on his signs, they refused to take any action to protect him
from the death threats attacking his religious views and smearing him
as a “n-g-er.” Okwedy also notified police he had received a package
that he feared might be a bomb, but was told by NYPD to “just open” the
package.
"This case presents the clearest example yet of the
continuing erosion of the constitutional protections for churches and
religion against the incessant onslaught of the homosexual agenda,"
said Stephen Crampton. "The actions of the City communicated
unequivocally that traditional religious beliefs about homosexuality
will be censored, even when simply quoting scripture," Crampton added.
The case is styled Okwedy v. Molinari, Case No. 05-6217.