Judge Gives Green Light to Klan Leafleting

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (CN) - The Ku Klux Klan can distribute literature on cars in the southeast Missouri town, a federal judge ruled.

The American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of the KKK, asked for a ruling prohibiting Cape Girardeau from enforcing a law that made it illegal to put handbills on cars. The KKK claimed the law unfairly limited its free speech. Cape Girardeau argued that the law is part of its anti-liter ordinance.

In issuing the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross ruled that the KKK would like succeed on the case's merits."In addition, the court finds that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in favor of granting the injunction so as to allow freedom of speech," Ross wrote. "Defendant has not provided any evidence that 'a cause-and-effect relationship actually exists between the placement of handbills on parked cars and litter that impacts the health, safety, or aesthetic well-being of' residents of Cape Girardeau."

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