Youngstown, OH - Following a lawsuit filed by Liberty Counsel against the Newton Falls Library Board of Trustees ("Library"), the Library has repealed its Policy which banned "controversial" religious speech, and has entered into a court-approved settlement. Liberty Counsel filed the suit after its application to use the Library's Community Room was denied.

The Library Policy stated that the Community Room is available to "nonprofit organizations" for "programs of a civic, cultural or educational nature." The former Policy also states the following: "If a program deals with a controversial subject, then all sides of the issue must be presented." Liberty Counsel applied to use the Community Room for specific dates at the end of May and on June 6 or 13, 2005. The application stated that the meeting would present a biblical perspective on traditional marriage. The meeting would include prayer and scripture reading. Kerry McCrone, the library director, denied the application on May 23. With the denial, the library director sent back a copy of the Policy with language highlighted, stating that if a program deals with a controversial subject, all sides of the issue must be presented. In other words, the Policy requires that any time a "controversial subject" is discussed, the opposing viewpoint must also be presented. As a result of the settlement, the Library has removed from the Policy the language that requires discussions regarding "controversial" subjects to present "all sides of the issue."

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, commented: "We are pleased that the Newton Falls Library has conformed its Community Room Policy to the First Amendment. Under the former Policy, Liberty Counsel would have been required to invite a proponent of same-sex marriage before we could address our viewpoint that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Such a policy invites dispute and ends up censoring the speaker. "