MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Lilly Fowler0

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and other groups looking to protest outside houses of worship have won a court battle against a state law aimed at curtailing such activity.
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, ruled that the House of Worship Protection Act violates the First Amendment.

The law, which took effect in 2012, bars anyone from intentionally disturbing a “house of worship by using profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior … either within the house of worship or so near it as to disturb the order and solemnity of the worship services.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a lawsuit that same year on behalf of various groups pushing for change in the Roman Catholic Church. The groups argued that the First Amendment protects their freedom to…