Message Left for Ives Was Free Speech, Attorney Says

A “we know where you live” message left for state Rep. Jeanne Ives was not a threat but the exercise of free speech in the same-sex marriage debate, Chicago resident Stephen Bona’s attorney said earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Bona, 50, was charged with a felony count of threatening a public official after the message was left, a charge his attorney, Joanie Rae Wimmer, says should be dropped, the Tribune reports.

Wilmer was in court Wednesday to dispute the charge, which was filed against Bona in March.

The Tribune reports that Bona left the following message on an answering machine at Ives’ office: “We know where you live. There is no longer an assault weapons ban. Perhaps you should think about that before you speak the next time ...”

Bona, a gay who has been in a civil union since 2011, left the message after he heard the Wheaton Republican say during a radio show that same-sex marriage is “a completely disordered relationship” and that marriage rights were being pushed by gays to “weasel their way into acceptability,” the  Tribune reports, citing court records.

• Read more details in the  Tribune story.

A ruling on Bona’s motion to dismiss the charges is expected on Dec. 20, the  Tribune says.