Billboard company refuses to run ads for gay and lesbian group

[davidinalameda]

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=63321

An outdoor advertising company said Friday it refused to rent billboard space in South Georgia to a gay and lesbian advocacy group because their sign didn't meet "community standards.

Lamar Outdoor Advertising's South Georgia general manager, James Locke, said he turned the group down because of the wording that would have been used on the signs.

The group wanting to buy the space is Atlanta-based Georgia Equality.

[Zenlitened]

1. The language that didn't meet "community standards"?

From the article:

... The proposed billboards featured images of professionals, such as a male firefighter and a female doctor, and include tag lines that read, "I protect you. And ... I am gay. We Are Your Neighbors."

Shocking, huh?

Thought-provoking = objectionable. Yup. 'Bout sez it all. :crazy:

[93ncsu]

2. This is just a move to ...

deflect the blame to the "community".

However, a company cannot be forced to take business, I don't believe.

[davidinalameda]

3. they can't be forced to take anyone's business

but the reason for not taking it is laughable

I'm sure if they said that they were sodomites headed for hell, that would meet community standards

[kbm8795]

4. No, but they can be embarassed

and exposed as the scum they are. . .and major corporations that rent their billboards can be contacted and pressured to find other means of advertising.

Frankly, I don't see where this company has a leg to stand on - if the local media reported on this story and included the wording of the signs in the story, then it is already obvious that the billboards met community standards. It just didn't meet the church-ordered standards of the manager/company, which naturally isn't going to be interested in free speech.

[mongo]

5. This is pretty common

There are plenty of venues in town that won't take advertising for our Lingerie and Erotic Boutique - and our ads have always been very tame.

1 out of 4 radio stations will take our business.

The local TV station will not take our business.

The local daily newspaper will take our business, but not the free weekly advertising paper.

The free weekly paper used to take our ads, but a local anti-porn asshole went around to the car dealerships which are the papers bread and butter and convinced a few of the big ones to call the paper and threaten to pull their advertising if the paper continued to do business with us.

Welcome to America. I know at least one of the local billboard companies would take our business, but billboards are expensive and requre at least a 6-month contract.