'Are you good without God? Millions' ad ban violates Free Speech?
In defense of the human right to speech, Appignani Humanist Legal Center filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of United Coalition of Reason (UnitedCoR) in response to Arkansas transit organization’s refusal to lease advertising space for a proposed ad with atheist and humanist content, violating the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment say legal representatives.
The proposed ad causing the stir is the one popping up around the nation on billboards and t-shirts that reads, “Are you good without God? Millions are."
Atheists and humanists do not want to be in a closet, so are battling their freedom of speech. In an era of religions pitted against each other more than ever to justify wars, the Arkansas issue impacts humanity.
Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) and On the Move Advertising, Inc., despite facts that CATA holds no clear policy on ad content, and has displayed religious and political themed advertisements in the past, but says no to this one.
Bill Burgess, attorney and legal coordinator of the American Humanist Association’s legal arm, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center said Wednesday that the government "cannot impose burdensome conditions on speech it deems ‘controversial,’ as the transit authority did in this instance by insisting that the Coalition, unlike other advertisers, post a damage deposit because the authority said it feared the ads would be destroyed by vandals."
"The First Amendment does not permit a heckler’s veto.”
Public forums open to freedom of speech cannot discriminate according to American Humanist Association's legal arm.
“Governmental entities cannot discriminate among speakers on the basis of their viewpoint when operating a public forum they have opened for speech, such as public transit advertising space,” said Burgess.
"Being visible is important for us," said Fred Edwords, executive director for the United Coalition of Reason, "because atheists and agnostics in our society often don't know very many people of like mind.
"Furthermore, if traditionally religious people can be open about their views, why shouldn't we be open about ours?"
Burgess furthered, "Freedom of speech is guaranteed to all Americans, secular and religious alike."
"We will not stand silent in the face of censorship motivated by religion.”
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