Preacher says gay-bashing posters are his constitutional right

By Tony Grew • August 10, 2006 - 0:00

vicar in gay posters argument

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A New York preacher has vowed to fight all the way to the Supreme Court in his mission to display Bible passages on billboards.

Rev. Kristopher Okwedy spent $2,500 on billboard signs with this catchy quote, taken from the Book of Leviticus: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womenkind. It is an abomination."

When Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari saw the adverts, he contacted the billboard company PNE to express his displeasure. He wrote to the company chairman that:

"I want to inform you that this message conveys an atmosphere of intolerance which is not welcome in our borough."

Staten Island is the most obscure of the five New York boroughs, and is almost entirely made up of commuter housing. Billboard company PNE, no doubt mindful of the amount of revenue the borough authorities generate for them, decided to take down the offending bible passage.

Rev Okwedy sued, claiming a breach of contract on the part of PNE. He claims that his constitutional right to practise his religion was being infringed. The American Family Association are funding his attempt to overturn the decision of a three-judge federal appeals panel that his contract had not been breached.

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