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posted by Fnord666 on Friday August 11 2017, @12:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the no-bill-of-rights-for-you dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Can the government ban the text of the First Amendment itself on municipal transit ads because free speech is too "political" for public display? If this sounds like some ridiculous brain teaser, it should. But unfortunately it's not. It's a core claim in a lawsuit we filed today challenging the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) restrictions on controversial advertising.

[...] Earlier this year, following President Trump's repeated commentary denigrating journalists and Muslims, the ACLU decided to remind everyone about that very first promise in the Bill of Rights: that Congress shall make no law interfering with our freedoms of speech and religion. As part of a broad advertising campaign, the ACLU erected ads in numerous places, featuring the text of the First Amendment. Not only in English, but in Spanish and Arabic, too — to remind people that the Constitution is for everyone.

The ACLU inquired about placing our ads with WMATA, envisioning an inspirational reminder of our founding texts, with a trilingual twist, in the transit system of the nation's capital. But it was not to be: Our ad was rejected because WMATA's advertising policies forbid, among many other things, advertisements "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions" or "intended to influence public policy."

You don't have to be a First Amendment scholar to know that something about that stinks.

Source: https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/first-amendment-literally-banned-dc

Also at NPR.


Original Submission #1   Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday August 11 2017, @02:39AM (3 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 11 2017, @02:39AM (#552056) Journal

    I guess in your country personal anecdotes make for valid statistics. Maybe you should check what actually brought the government down in the first place.

    I'd love to see what the "conspirators" (that you alleged) would have done without people in the streets stomping their feet.
    Those clowns without weapons and/or money which, in Romania's case [wikipedia.org], actually lost their life doing so.

    If you name the country, maybe I can provide some assistance in that.

    If you like a challenge, do it for India/Mahatma Gandhi's case
    (no, I'm not going to disclose my country of origin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday August 11 2017, @02:57AM (2 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday August 11 2017, @02:57AM (#552070) Journal

    Gandhi... was financed by some of the leading industrialists in West India, the Sarabhais, textile magnates in the Gujarat, and the Birlas, second largest industrialist group in all of India. Millions of rupees were given to him over a period of 25 years.

    There appears to be much about Gandhi you don't know...

    I'm not going to disclose my country of origin

    So be it, then I won't believe your story...

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday August 11 2017, @03:09AM (1 child)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 11 2017, @03:09AM (#552081) Journal

      Gandhi... was financed by some of the leading industrialists in West India, the Sarabhais, textile magnates in the Gujarat, and the Birlas, second largest industrialist group in all of India. Millions of rupees were given to him over a period of 25 years.

      Believe me or not, a fact is that you are yet to demonstrate the emphasized conjunction in your original assertion.

      Serious revolts require money and weapons.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0, Troll) by fustakrakich on Friday August 11 2017, @03:35AM

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday August 11 2017, @03:35AM (#552098) Journal

        Sorry, I don't take pedantry into account...

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..