set effectsActive on a locked layer

I have a script I wrote that toggles the fx on/off for the layers in my comp.  It's really handy and speeds up my workflow quite a bit.  The only problem is when I have my layers locked, it won't let me set the effectsActive attribute.  I can toggle the fx switch on/off in the UI when the layer is locked with no problems.  Why can't I do this via a script.  Is there a workaround to accomplish the desired goal?

Thanks for any advice!

-Justin