Frances wrote:
It wasn't illegal until the nut  M. Ohara came along and she paid a huge price for what she believed.

It wasn't "illegal" until someone actually had the courts look at the Constitutional implications - once they did they realized that it had always been illegal, just that no-one had ever realized it before.
  

"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views... which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering." – The Doctor (Tom Baker)