AUGUSTA – Arguments will be heard next week in Washington, D.C., in a lawsuit brought by the Christian Civic League of Maine that claims campaign finance laws run afoul of the First Amendment.

The civic league is suing the Federal Election Commission over limits placed on advertising around the June primary elections.

The league wants to air ads encouraging people to contact U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and tell them to support the federal Marriage Protection Amendment, which could come up for debate in the Senate this spring or summer.

Because they mention Snowe’s name, they’re forbidden during the critical time this spring and summer, the league said.

Federal campaign finance laws ban corporations or interest groups from airing broadcast ads that name candidates within 30 days of an election. The primary election counts even though Snowe is unopposed for the GOP nomination for re-election.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this month by James Bopp Jr., an Indiana lawyer who also does work for James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for April 24 in U.S. District Court.