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Anti-gay marriage ads make appearance on DC Transit
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by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | December 26, 2009 at 09:14 am
222 views | 16 Recommendations | 1 comment
Washington Post OpEd columnist applauds gay group who want anti-gay marriage ads to remain in place on the DC Metro
The Washing DC based group NOM (National Organization for Marriage) is joined by an offshoot, a new group called “Stand For Marriage DC” .
The group has appeared in response to the D.C. city council's passage of the Marriage Equality bill which was signed into city law by the District of Columbia's Mayor this month.
The DC Metro now sports anti-gay marriage ads put up by the organization.
A Washington DC based rival group supporting GLBT rights - Full Equality Now DC - is demanding that the ads be removed, as they are in violation of city Non-discrimination statutes.
But Stand For Marriage DC is insisting that a people's vote be conducted on the gay marriage bill.
The ACLU as well as representatives of LGBT groups have sided with the anti-marriage group on the basis of free-speech.
OpEd columnist for the Washington Post, Colbert I King, believes that the ads ought to remain where they are, and that DC Metro riders have every right to read the ads.
Some Metrobuses are carrying advertisements paid for by Stand for Marriage DC, a group that opposes civil marriage for same-sex couples. The group wants to subject the District's recently passed law permitting same-sex marriage to a public referendum. Offended by the ads, an opposing group, Full Equality Now DC, has demanded that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) remove the ads from Metrobuses on the grounds that they disrespect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) city residents. Full Equality Now asserts that the ads force GLBT people to "stare down discrimination as they board the bus to go somewhere or are even passed by an advertisement on the street." That, says Full Equality Now, targets D.C. residents on the basis of sexual orientation, in opposition to both common decency and the standards of nondiscrimination in WMATA's own policies. "We do not deserve to face this message when we ride the bus," the group wrote in a letter to WMATA General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. That Full Equality Now takes offense is understandable. But should the ads be taken down?
"What is freedom of expression?" Salman Rushdie once asked. "Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist." Ride a Metrobus in this city, and you'll see an example of what Rushdie is talking about.
Washington Post columnist Colbert I. King weighed in on the issue.What do you think? Free speech vs. hate speech. Does the group have the right to run advertising even if it targets a group and violates nondiscrimination policies? Is all speech (including advertising) protected as long as it doesn’t incite violence? Does a call for a vote violate those policies? Should civil rights (or equal rights, for those of you who don’t see LGBT rights as civil rights) ever come up for a vote?
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mudricky
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Hugh Askew
Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke
Redwater, Alberta, Canada
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 09:42 on December 26th, 2009
What? Why would people post post an anti gay marriage advertisment in DC of all places? If I am not mistaken, they have a rich gay marriage population. Also,