A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court seeks to prohibit state and local governments from enforcing a new Missouri law - the "House of Worship Protection Act" - that will make it a crime to disturb a building used for religious purposes by using profanity, rude or indecent behavior, or making noise.
The American Civil Liberties Union for Eastern Missouri filed the suit in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis. It claims the new law, which takes effect Tuesday, is unconstitutional because it infringes on free speech rights of groups like the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the Voice of the Faithful of Kansas City, "whose peaceful protest activities would be illegal under the law.