A host of entities involved in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of last year’s Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) have been granted a stay of a special federal three-judge panel’s ruling that declared some parts of the Bipartisan BCRA unconstitutional, while upholding others. The same panel granted the stay of its ruling on May 19th. The original ruling’s impact on issue advocacy is unclear, since some, like the National Rifle Association (NRA), are saying the ruling effectively creates new restrictions. The case is being appealed to the Supreme Court. The three-judge panel cited a desire to prevent litigants from having to abide by potentially three different sets of rules within a short time span as a major reason for the stay. The court also noted a potential for confusion caused by the fractured original decision of the panel. The original May 2nd ruling struck down BCRA’s blanket ban on broadcasts that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of a federal election or 30 days of a primary. It also upheld the portion of BCRA's "backup" definition of banned issue ads that prohibits broadcasts that promote, support, attack or oppose federal candidates even if they do not expressly advocate a vote for or against a candidate. Because there are no time limits in this definition, the NRA was concerned its planned campaign on gun legislation criticizing particular Senators’ positions could violate the new rule if paid for with their treasury funds instead of regulated “hard money” campaign contributions. It seems unlikely that the court intended to ban all criticism of Members of Congress in broadcast media. Genuine issue ads that comment on a Member’s position on an issue, without commenting on his or her candidacy, character or fitness for office should be considered lobbying activity and not partisan electioneering. The issue will not be definitively resolved until the Supreme Court makes its decision. In the meantime the primary definition in BCRA will apply. Under Federal Election Commission regulations, 501(c)(3) organizations are exempt from that ban because tax law prohibits them from engaging in partisan electioneering.