Quadriplegic Harassed by Secret Service For Passing Out $1 Million Dollar Tract
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<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />June 13, 2006© ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com
 
On Friday, June 2nd the Secret Service seized 8,300 of Ray Comfort's Million Dollar Bill gospel tracts from his sister ministry "The Great News Network" in Texas. They Secret Service told them that someone in North Carolina tried to deposit one in their bank, and that if they didn't give up their supply, they would arrest them for violation of counterfeit laws. Then they said they are going to seize Ray Comfort's supply in California. The Million Dollar Bill tract was produced in 2002 by best-selling author and co-host (with Kirk Cameron) Ray Comfort of the award-winning "The Way of the Master" TV program, now airing in 70 countries and on 20 networks.
 
After Ray Comfort alerted Brannon Howse, President of Worldview Weekend and Christian Worldview Network of the Secret Service action, Brannon urged Comfort to call their mutual friend, Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association and The AFA Center for Law and Policy. After Howse and Comfort contacted Wildmon, AFA's lead trial attorney took the case.
 
By June of 2006, Ray & Kirk's ministry had sold an incredible 5,300,000 in the last four years. Other groups were buying the $1 million bill and were buying them and making them available to their customers because people love them. The reason they produced them was because they knew that they weren't violating counterfeit laws because there's not such thing as a real million dollar bill. The Monday after the seizure there was panic buying from customers who loved using the tract. A total of 500,000 were sold in one day.
 
Two days later the story hit the Washington Post, then it was picked up by the Associated Press and became national news. A further one and a million and a half were then ordered and a special print of 100,000 of the bill that had the words "Secret Service Version" printed in the seal. This was in compliance with Federal guidelines. Even though it wasn't real money, it was made 1 ½ times the size of a genuine bill.
 
Yesterday Ray Comfort and Living Waters received the following email: "We just wanted to let you know that our quadriplegic friend Chris was giving out some million dollar tracts on Saturday night when a secret service agent told him that he was going to arrest him for having counterfeit money. He took his tracts and told him that Living Waters was in big trouble. Please pray for us here in Vegas as we go out to share God's word."
 
Brian Fahlin, Lead Attorney for the AFA Center For Law and Policy is now also representing Chris.
 
The question is, could this bill be mistaken for being real money? On the front are the words "Department of Eternal Affairs,"  "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "This Note is Not Legal Tender," "www.WayOfTheMasterRadio.com". The front says "million dollars" seven times. The back says "million dollars" five times, and has a 170 word gospel message on it. These things are a clue that it's not Government issued. Besides, any bank teller who tries to give change on a million dollar bill shouldn't be a bank teller.
 
There are more than 38 million results that show up on Google if you type in "million dollar bill." There are hundreds of sites selling novelty bills, and most of them look, feel, and smell like real money.  One has to ask, in the light of there being so many such sites selling million dollar bills if this isn't an example of discrimination against the Christian message. 
 
A cartoon in the Dallas Morning News expressed how nuts this is by showing a Secret Service agent with a case full of million dollar bills, saying that he had caught a clown making animals out of balloons, and passing them off as real animals. The Secret Service in Texas are being sued by The Great News Network for seizing property without a warrant. The judge will make a ruling on Friday.