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

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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.