Will Free Speech Prevail?

With the U. S. Supreme Court's term ending June 30, a decision in two historical cases, FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life and McCain v. Wisconsin Right to Life, is expected to be handed down any day.

The central question is these cases is whether organizations like Wisconsin Right to Life can air legitimate grassroots lobbying ads within the blackout periods created by the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. The District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Wisconsin Right to Life in December 2006, stating that it is unconstitutional to prohibit the airing of such ads. The Federal Election Commission and Senator John McCain and other members of Congress appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court which heard oral arguments on the cases on April 25, 2007.

A broad coalition of groups representing a wide spectrum of political ideologies filed briefs supporting Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL) in its case challenging McCain-Feingold's "electioneering communication" prohibition as applied to grassroots lobbying. Among the dozens of groups filing briefs supporting WRTL were the American Civil Liberties Union, AFL-CIO, Chamber of Commerce of the United States, National Association of Realtors, National Rifle Association, Alliance for Justice and the Republican National Committee

"The Court has an opportunity to uphold the First Amendment right of citizen organizations to participate in self-government by asking other citizens to petition their members of Congress regarding upcoming legislative action even though elections are occurring," said Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. "We hope that they will do so."