(Madison, Wisconsin) A federal court has ruled that a conservative pastor's rights to free speech were not violated when police ordered him to remove homophobic banners from a highway overpass.



Pastor Ralph Ovadal filed a lawsuit against the city of Madison and the Madison Police Department following two incidents on a pedestrian bridge over a busy city thoroughfare in September and October 2003.

Hanging a large banner proclaiming "homosexuality is a sin" from the bridge, Ovadal and his followers yelled homophobic slurs.

Police said the banner impeded traffic and could cause accidents.� The officers ordered the group to disperse or face arrest for disorderly conduct.

Ovadal claimed the city was violating his First Amendment right to free speech and went to court.

A judge denied Ovadal's request for an injunction against the police, ruling that their restrictions against Ovadal's speech were justified.

Ovadal appealed to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals which ordered the case reopened.

On Monday U.S. District Judge John Shabaz ruled that� the "spectacle" created by the banners created a traffic hazard with traffic slowing.

But in his ruling Shabaz said "there is nothing that suggests it was the message" that caused a dangerous slowdown of traffic or caused police to tell Ovadal and his demonstrators to leave.

"It isn't the message we (motorists) don't like, it's the fact that we can't get home on time," Shabaz said. "You could probably have sold Old Dutch root beer and got the same attention."

Ovadal said he expects to appeal the ruling.

"The bottom line is, based on traffic congestion caused by a minor accident up the road, and based on angry reactions to our message, we were banned from sharing our message," Ovadal told the Wisconsin State Journal. "I believe the appeals court will see that. I think the city very skillfully manipulated the facts."

(c)365Gay.com 2005