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[CNJRoss]

Courthouse News Service, 5/21/24

 

DC transit authority ban on controversial ads found to violate First Amendment

 

WallBuilders, a Texas-based Christian nonprofit, sought to promote the Founding Fathers' Christian faith and advocating for more religion in government and politics.

 

 

WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday in favor of a Christian nonprofit in a First Amendment suit against Washington’s transit authority, blocking a policy that prohibited the group’s ad campaign.

 

The suit, brought by Texas-based nonprofit WallBuilders in December 2023, challenged a decision by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to reject an advertising campaign seeking to promote the founders’ Christian faith. 

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Reason magazine, 6/7/24

 

D.C.'s Rules for Subway Ads Are Blocked in Federal Court

 

The transit authority was sued after rejecting an ad that directed viewers to go to a website "to find out about the faith of our founders."

 

For nearly a decade, the transit authority in Washington, D.C., has faced controversy over restrictive guidelines governing advertisements in the city's subways and busses. Now, it might have to scrap some of them.

 

The controversial rules prohibit any ad that is "issues-oriented" or "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions." The guidelines also single out religious ads, prohibiting "advertisements that promote or oppose any religion, religious practice or belief."

 

Last month, a D.C. district court ruled in favor of a Christian group seeking to challenge the rules, placing a preliminary injunction on part of the guidelines that ban ads "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions."

 

 

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