Humanist (atheist) advertising campaign on buses

Examiner photo.

Today's Examiner reports on complaints of an atheist advertising campaign run on Metrobuses, "Metro fields hundreds of complaints about bus ads."

My short response (I have to get to a meeting) is from the Constitution of the United States of America:

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868. Note History

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
...

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

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The only problem is that government agencies really really really really hate complaints. So instead of having to deal with them, normally they wouldn't even put themselves in this position (i.e., no ads at all). As an ACLU person points out in the article, once you take ads, you can't choose. Now, if it weren't times of financial exigency, a gun shy board would then vote to take no advertising, which is the only way to bar "specific" ads--bar them all. It won't happen.

The interesting thing about these arguments is that they exhibit intolerance and anti-freedom of speech, which demonstrates the necessity of the First Amendment to begin with (more about protection of minorities within representation later...).