Monday, March 16, 2015
Freedom of Speech on Public Transit Advertisements
The article can be found here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-philly-public-buses-must-run-ads-linking-muslims-to-hitler/
First, it is important to note that the subways, trains, and buses are public domain. The MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) in NYC, and the SEPTA (The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) in Philadelphia are forms of public transit. This is not a private company deciding what advertisements it wishes to display.
The ads are being published by a non-profit based in New Hampshire called The American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). The group argued that these advertisements were relevant and appropriate "in light of the fact that many Jews (and Christians) are being persecuted in Islamic countries in the Middle East." SEPTA, however, prohibits advertisements that disparages any groups based on sex, race, sexual orientation, religious preferences, disability, etc. SEPTA argued that these ads promote hateful speech against innocent civilians among its one million daily customers. SEPTA, therefore, worked to block these ads from reaching the public.
AFDI, however, filed legal complaints against SEPTA arguing that their Freedom of Speech under the First Amendment was being violated. The American Freedom Defense Initiative, a conservative non-profit group, believed that they had the right to get their message across to the millions of people who take public transit.
When this case was brought to court, the judge ruled in favor of the AFDI, saying that SEPTA was in fact violating the group's First Amendment right to freedom of speech. "It is clear that the anti-disparagement standard promulgated by SEPTA was a principled attempt to limit hurtful, disparaging advertisements." Goldberg wrote, "While certainly laudable, such aspirations do not, unfortunately, cure First Amendment violations." So, while the court agreed that the advertisements were disparaging, the judge found that to restrict these ads is to restrict the First Amendment rights of this group.
I agree with the court's decision on this case. While I may not agree with the hateful speech written on these advertisements, I believe that every person should have freedom of speech, not just those that we agree with. These advertisements are not doing physical harm to anyone, and are simply trying to garner support for their somewhat unpopular opinion. SEPTA has run advertisements in the past that take stances on public issues such as animal cruelty, fracking, contraception, etc. If we allow groups such as Planned Parenthood or the NRA to advertise their beliefs, which are often offensive to some, why shouldn't we allow groups such as this nonprofit from New Hampshire to state their religious and political beliefs? Simply because I do not agree with their beliefs is not a good enough reason to block their right to their freedom of speech.
These ads display very strongly worded messages of hate about the beliefs of Islam. I wondered whether or not the correctness of the speech on the advertisement would affect how the court ruled. If, in fact, Islamic Jew-hatred was not in the Quran and there was no evidence of this hatred, would that make the advertisements unconstitutional? After some research, I found that the First Amendment amendment even protects incorrect speech. So, the validity of the argument on the ads are irrelevant in this instance.
I believe that the city of Philadelphia did the right thing by making it clear to the public that they do not promote the beliefs of this group, but by also respecting the findings of the court and adhering to the First Amendment. I believe that this case is different from others that we have looked at, such as the gay marriage cake, because it is a public institution that cannot deny customers in advertising simply because they wish to.
What do you think? Should public transit, such as SEPTA, be forced to display advertisements that go against their beliefs and, in their opinion, promote hate speech? Or should freedom of speech be protected whether the group is promoting love or hate?
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