D.C. Metro Hit With First Amendment Suit For Refusing to Run Catholic Christmas Ad

[mahatmakanejeeves]

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Q: What do the Catholic Church, ACLU, PETA, and Milo Yiannopoulos have in common? A: They all say their 1st Amendment rights were violated by DC Metro's wildly stupid ad policy

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D.C. Metro Hit With First Amendment Suit For Refusing to Run Catholic Christmas Ad

What do the Catholic Church, the ACLU, PETA, and Milo Yiannopoulos have in common? None of them can buy ads on the D.C. subway.

C.J. Ciaramella|Nov. 28, 2017 4:15 pm

The District of Columbia's transit system won't let the local archdiocese buy space for a Christmas-themed advertisement. Now the archdiocese is suing the agency for violating its First Amendment rights.

In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed today against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority—commonly called Metro—the archdiocese argues that the agency's refusal to run its ads "effectively silences any viewpoint that might challenge commercialism or consumerism or attempt to emphasize the religious reason for the season."

The lawsuit is the second First Amendment challenge filed this year against Metro's policy of banning ads that are "issues-oriented" or "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions." The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit against Metro in August on behalf of four plaintiffs, including itself, who were denied advertising space by the government agency. In the ACLU's instance, the rejected ad was literally the text of the First Amendment.

The other plaintiffs in the ACLU case are People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a local abortion provider, and noted troll Milo Yiannopoulos. ... Metro adopted the policy in 2015 after anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller attempted to buy ad space on the subway.
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C.J. Ciaramella is a criminal justice reporter at Reason.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Attorney general sides with archdiocese in battle over Christmas bus ads

Public Safety

Attorney general sides with archdiocese in battle over Christmas bus ads

By Ann E. Marimow January 16 at 5:01 PM

The Justice Department on Tuesday sided with the Archdiocese of Washington in its legal battle to display Christmas ads on Metro buses. ... The announcement from Attorney General Jeff Sessions follows a decision by a federal appeals court in Washington denying the archdiocese’s request to move forward with the ads during the December holiday season.

In November, the archdiocese took Metro officials to court after the transit agency blocked the proposed posters, citing Metro’s ban on ads that “promote or oppose any religion, religious practice or belief.”

The decision by the Justice Department to file a “friend of the court” brief on behalf of the archdiocese is part of the attorney general’s push for the government to respect religious freedom. That advocacy has prompted a backlash from some civil liberties groups concerned that the guidelines Sessions issued in October could allow for discrimination.

{Civil liberties groups decry Sessions’s guidance on religious freedom}

In its amicus brief filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Justice Department says WMATA’s rejection of the ad campaign constitutes “viewpoint discrimination” in violation of the archdiocese’s First Amendment right of free speech. ... “As the Supreme Court has made clear, the First Amendment prohibits the government from discriminating against religious viewpoints,” Associate Attorney General Rachel L. Brand said in a statement.
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Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.

Ann Marimow covers legal affairs for The Washington Post. She joined the Post in 2005, and has covered state government and politics in California, New Hampshire and Maryland. Follow @amarimow