[Grig]

A good ruling protecting freedom of speech!

(nice to know you Americans still get those)

Have a great 4th of July everyone!

[Grig]

Whoops, here are clickable links.

You can read the full court ruling here:

http://www.ck10.uscourts.gov/opinions/07/07-4095.pdf

You can read a write-up from the Citizen Media Law Project on the judgment here:

http://tinyurl.com/58dvho

Here is the original District judge’s ruling that was affirmed:

http://www.thelen.com/tlu/UtahLighthouseVDiscoveryComputing.pdf

[Quix]

Can we have a 1-3 paragraph summary of what happened and the implications?

[FastCoyote]

While it may be a good ruling, I wonder if I were to make a parody site of FARM or FAIR whether you would think it appropriate? AND one can argue the Tanner site is a parody of all Mormon tenets (I certainly get a chuckle at stuff about peepstones and garments and handshakes, etc.)

[The controversy revolves around a website created in 2003 by Allen Wyatt, the webmaster and vice president of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), an organization that reponds to criticisms of the Mormon Church. Wyatt’s website parodied the official website of the Utah Lighthouse Ministry (UTLM), an organization that publishes books and other materials critical of Mormonism. The parody site deliberately imitated the design elements of the UTLM website and replicated certain aspects of its textual layout, with slight modifications to convey a critical message. Wyatt placed no disclaimer on the site indicating that it was not affiliated with UTLM.]

[P-Marlowe]

A good ruling protecting freedom of speech!

LOL!

It just goes to show how dishonest Mormons are about their own religion.

What FAIR did was downright dishonest.

I'm rather surprised that YOU posted this. If I were still a Mormon I would have been embarrassed by what FAIR did.

It just goes to show you how low the Mormons will sink to hide their religion from the light of truth.

Congratulations.

This was a Pyhrric victory for you. Enjoy it.

[MHGinTN]

After months of reading the deceits, misdirection, and falsehoods from LDS apologists at FR, it is not even surprising that certain mormons would call this LDS/FAIR thuggery (which was upheld by judges) ‘a good ruling’. Deceiving is how Mormonism was founded, and by deceit it continues the infection. Christians know whom is the father of lies, a murderer from the start. Such tactics as LDS/FAIR apologetics use prove from what spirit mormonism is spawned.

[Godzilla]

this only goes to reinforce the mormon methodology of deception, lying and silencing opponents. Cybersquatting is a vile practice to the truly free practice of the 1st Amendment on the internet. Such a celebration on your part is not worthy of FR, but more appropriate at the Democratic Underground.

[Grig]

If the price of sour grapes goes up like everything else some people here will make a killing.

[Theo]

Mormonism is a Satan-inspired cult. They use deception to gain converts, and use deception to keep people from knowing the truth about this evil hell-bound cult.

Just my opinion, of course.

[Zakeet]

Re. A good ruling protecting freedom of speech!

I am totally confused!

I noticed where numerous Saints on this thread laud the courts for upholding free speech but ...

Didn't the LDS Church threaten the Tanners with legal action when they published the above books disclosing the Mormon Temple Ceremony ...

... and didn't the LDS Church then back down because the Temple Ceremony wasn't copyrighted

... and wasn't the reason why the Temple Ceremony wasn't copyrighted because it meant disclosure to the public ...

... and didn't the LDS Church then claim the Tanners were not publishing a correct rendition of the Temple Ceremony ... only to be embarrassed when former temple workers and smuggled tape recordings affirmed the validity of the Tanners' publication?

Didn't the LDS Church sue the Tanners when they published a few pages from the Mormon Church's Handbook of Instructions telling people how to remove their name from the LDS Records ...

... and wasn't this information widely available on the Internet at the time ...

... and didn't the Tanners promptly comply with the LDS Church's demands to remove the offending material and links ...

... and weren't the Tanners sued anyway by the LDS Church ...

... and didn't the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper simultaneously publish print and post the URL’s of web sites containing the Church Handbook of Instructions ...

... and didn't the Mormon Church not sue the Salt Lake Tribune ...

... and didn't the Mormon Church not sue people who published the Church Handbook of Instructions on the Internet ...

... and didn't this lead to allegations the Mormon Church's lawsuit was an attempt to an attempt to stifle the Tanners' First Amendment right of free speech, bankrupt their Ministry?

So in light of the above, how is it possible to proclaim the LDS Church is a protector of free speech and a defender of liberty?