Story Archive

Well, We Certainly Don’t Want Anyone to Think

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing WMATA — the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which is a government agency — for violating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by improperly refusing advertising on Metro trains and buses. That includes an ACLU ad that simply prints the words of the First Amendment, and an ad for “alt-right” commentator Milo Yiannopoulos for his latest book. WMATA claims that the ads are “intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions,” which is against its advertising policy. “In its zeal to avoid hosting offensive and hateful speech,” says ACLU attorney Lee Rowland, “the government has eliminated speech that makes us think, including the text of the First Amendment itself.” While the “ACLU could not more strongly disagree with the values that Milo Yiannopoulos espouses,” Rowland said, “we can’t allow the government to pick and choose which viewpoints are acceptable” — which is the very point of the First Amendment. (RC/Washington Post) ...And if you don’t like that, you have the right to say something about it.