老澳门开奖结果

WASHINGTON 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 and its affiliates in the District of Columbia and Virginia today challenged the Washington area transit system鈥檚 advertising restrictions as violations of the First Amendment. The free speech lawsuit follows the rejection of ads from four groups that hail from across the political spectrum.

The case was filed on behalf of the 老澳门开奖结果; women鈥檚 health care collective Carafem, specializing in family planning and abortion care; Milo Worldwide LLC, the company of conservative commentator and writer Milo Yiannopoulos; and animal rights non-profit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority rejected a series of 老澳门开奖结果 ads displaying the text of the First Amendment in English, Spanish, and Arabic; a Carafem ad for medication abortions using what is described as the 鈥�10-Week-After Pill鈥�; and several PETA ads suggesting that people 鈥淕o Vegan.鈥� Ads for Yiannopoulos鈥� new book, 鈥淒angerous,鈥� were first accepted by WMATA, then removed from the transit system after riders complained.

The lawsuit argues that parts of the agency鈥檚 ad violate the First Amendment by discriminating against particular ads and advertisers deemed controversial by WMATA officials. The policies were adopted in 2015 following controversy surrounding a set of anti-Muslim advertisements. The current guidelines ban ads 鈥渋ntended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions,鈥� ads that 鈥渟upport or oppose an industry position or industry goal without any direct commercial benefit to the advertiser,鈥� and ads 鈥渋ntended to influence public policy,鈥� among others.

鈥淭his case highlights the consequences of the government鈥檚 attempt to suppress all controversial speech on public transit property,鈥� said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the 老澳门开奖结果-DC and lead counsel in the case. 鈥淭he First Amendment protects the speech of everyone from discriminatory government censorship, whether you agree with the message or not.鈥�

One of the rejected PETA ads showed a pig with text below reading, 鈥淚鈥檓 ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan.鈥� The ads were rejected for violating several of WMATA鈥檚 guidelines.

Another of the rejected ads was from Carafem, a nonprofit health care network that specializes in providing women access to birth control and medication abortion. The submitted ad featured a large image of a white pill and below it, the text 鈥�10-Week-After Pill鈥� and 鈥淔or abortion up to 10 weeks. $450. Fast. Private. carafem.org.鈥� WMATA had previously run ads for Carafem and its services, but this time told Carafem that the ad would not be accepted because it was 鈥渃ontroversial鈥� and 鈥渋ssue-oriented.鈥�

In late June, WMATA approved and posted ads promoting the release of Yiannopoulos鈥� book in trains and stations, only to pull them down a few days later after receiving complaints. The ads contained a photo of the author鈥檚 face and quotes about him from journalists. Yet the ads were rejected as too controversial.

The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 advertising campaign was launched to remind the public about the rights that the First Amendment protects and to send the message that it applies to all Americans, regardless of what languages they speak. WMATA refused to accept the 老澳门开奖结果 ad and did not provide a specific reason.

At the same time, WMATA has accepted a wide variety of advertisements that do convey viewpoints on controversial issues. For example, while WMATA rejected PETA鈥檚 ad for a vegan diet, it accepted an ad from a restaurant showing a tasty dish and labeled 鈥淧ORKADISE FOUND.鈥� At the same time it tore down ads for Yiannopoulos鈥� book, it was running ads for a movie that showed four women ogling a male stripper.

鈥淭he four plaintiffs in this case perfectly illustrate the indivisibility of the First Amendment,鈥� said Lee Rowland, senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淚n its zeal to avoid hosting offensive and hateful speech, the government has eliminated speech that makes us think, including the text of the First Amendment itself. The 老澳门开奖结果 could not more strongly disagree with the values that Milo Yiannopoulos espouses, but we can鈥檛 allow the government to pick and choose which viewpoints are acceptable.鈥�

The lawsuit asks the court to order the agency to accept and run the ads in its trains and stations and in and on its buses. The lawsuit also asks the court to declare four sections of WMATA guidelines unconstitutional because they violate free speech rights, are arbitrarily enforced, and are unconstitutionally vague. The plaintiffs鈥� lawyers also filed a motion for Milo Worldwide LLC, seeking immediate relief from the court given the ongoing loss of revenue from book sales caused by the wrongful removal of advertisements for Mr. Yiannopoulos鈥� book.

The lawsuit, 老澳门开奖结果 v. Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Today鈥檚 complaint is here:
/legal-document/aclu-v-wmata-complaint