Judge rules Little Rock bus line wrong to deny atheist ads
Thu, Aug 11 2011

By Suzi Parker

LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the
free speech of a coalition of atheists had been violated when Little
Rock's public bus line denied them the right to place $5,000 worth of
ads on city buses.

Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled that the Central Arkansas Transit
Authority and its advertising agency should not have denied the group
the right to place the ads on 18 publicly-funded city buses during
Memorial Day weekend.

Washington-based United Coalition of Reason filed a lawsuit on behalf of
the Arkansas group in June after the transit authority and its
advertising agency rejected an ad that would have read, "Are you good
without God? Millions are."

"This was a victory for all of us whether you believe in God or not,
because it's a victory of free speech," United Coalition of Reason's
attorney J.G. Schultz told Reuters.

The transit authority and its advertising agency, On The Move
Advertising, had required payment of a $36,000 deposit to run the ad.
The group then changed that to a $3 million insurance policy in case of
bus vandalism by angry Christians.

**...bus vandalism by angry Christians..." (Gotta love *that*.


Webber Wright ruled that the United Coalition of Reason would need to
place a $15,000 bond to be filed with the court in case of any damage
that may occur to a bus.

Schultz said the group had initially offered a $10,000 deposit before
any lawyers got involved.

"It wasn't because we thought it was okay but rather because we wanted
to get these ads on during Riverfest so we were willing to do a little
more," Schultz said, referring to a Little Rock music and art festival.

Attorneys for the Central Arkansas Transit Authority or On The Move
could not be immediately reached for comment.

Out of 36 markets where ad campaigns have run, only four have seen
vandalism, according to UnitedCoR's website. Last year, UnitedCoR placed
ads on outdoor billboards and buses in Fayetteville, Arkansas, without
incident.

In 2009, the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, a group of atheists who
are also involved in the bus ad campaign, successfully sued the state of
Arkansas to erect a Winter Solstice display on the grounds of the State
Capitol near a nativity scene.

"The freethinkers have been out in the open here in Arkansas without any
incident," said LeeWood Thomas, a spokesman for the Arkansas Society of
Freethinkers.

Thomas said the group would now refocus the bus campaigns on bus routes
near the city's colleges.
--
Don't forget to leave a bit of beef for rec.boat's right-wing
conservatrashers and ID spoofers to feed upon. The more they feed, the
quicker rec.boats will fall into the black hole of cyberspace and disappear.