Subject: TODAY'S FEDERAL COURT DECISION ON INTERNET FREE SPEECH
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 16:05:27 -0400

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NEWS YOU DIDN'T SEE ON TV

A commentary by Patricia Nell Warren                      
6/12/96

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ONE VICTORY IN AN ONGOING WAR

By Patricia Nell Warren

Today, in Philadelphia,  the federal three-judge panel has unanimously agreed
 to strike down the Communications Decency Act as unconconstitutional.
  Today, as one author with books at risk from CDA enforcement, and as one of
the plaintiffs in the case,  I am happy about this victory for free speech.  

But today is a single battle won in an ongoing war.   Both the federal
government and religious special-interest groups are determined to push
censorship ever more broadly.  Their excuse is that "youth must be
protected".  What they really have in mind is control, not protection.
  American people are also seeing this dark trend appearing  at state and
local levels.   The government has the right to appeal, so it's likely that
 ACLU vs Reno/ALA vs DOJ will go before  the Supreme Court.  

Meanwhile,  the three  judges gave  a solid decision in favor of Internet
free speech.  It  is a sign of hope for all  media, and for the rich
diversity of viewpoints that flood American life.

On behalf of everyone else at Wildcat Press, and all the young talent
published in our e-zine YouthArts (which is co-published by us with John
Waiblinger and Darin Weeks),  I want to thank the three judges. Thanks  to
the attorneys and staff of ACLU and American Library Assn. for their hard
work.  And thanks to the other plaintiffs -- we found strength in numbers
here.

I especially want to commend the four young people who quietly filed
affadavits with the court. Of all the hundreds of  thousands of kids  who
would be negatively affected by the CDA, Hunter Allen,  Kit O'Connell, Rheana
Parrenas and Christine Soto were the ones who personally spoke out on free
speech for youth.  They were not called as witnesses, or deposed by the
Justice Department.  But  I do not doubt for a moment that these strong,
clear, intelligent statements had their  impact.

From today, the war goes on.   Whether free speech has a final victory  will
depend not only on the Supreme Court, but on how many individual Americans
speak out and demand that they have this right, tomorrow and in the years to
come.

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Patricia Nell Warren is author of "The Front Runner," and other bestselling 
books about gay life.  Her publisher is Wildcat Press. For information on her

books, the Wildcat Web pages can be found at
http://www.wildcatcom.com and
http://www.gaywired.com/wildcat/wildcat.htm

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Copyright (c) 1996 by Patricia Nell Warren. All Rights Reserved. 

This column may be crossposted on the Internet  without change and in its 
entirety for non-commercial purposes without prior permission from the author
 -- we'd appreciate an email to let us know where it reappears.  Please run
the above 
author's note and copyright notice with the reprint.

For print media, permission to reprint this column in its entirety may be
obtained by  faxing  213/966-2467, or email [email-masked].  Short quotes
from this column may be reprinted without prior permission of the author.
 For further information on Wildcat's involvement with the CDA litigation, or
to interview Warren, call 213/966-2466. 

Wildcat Press, 8306 Wilshire Blvd. Box 8306, 
Beverly Hills, CA 90211. 

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