Lamparello set up his site in order, he says, to "engage Rev. Falwell and his ministry in debate about his views of gays and lesbians". The site is critical of the Reverend but contains clear statements that it is in no way affiliated to him or his ministries.
Reverend Falwell took objection to Laparello's use of the name Fallwell – a satirical misspelling of his own – and sued last year. Such disputes are often characterised as 'typosquatting'.
Judge Claude Hilton of the Alexandria District Court ruled in August that the domain was very similar to Falwell's registered trade mark in the term "Jerry Falwell" and that it might confuse web users. However, the judge stayed an injunction awarded against Lamparello until his appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has been heard.
According to the Associated Press, the national ACLU and its Virginia branch have now submitted briefs to the 4th Circuit, arguing that Lamparello, a gay rights activist, has a free speech right to use the domain name in that it is descriptive of content, like a film or book title.
In addition, says ACLU, criticism of a public figure is protected under the constitution.