Pubdate: Thu, 02 Dec 2004
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2004 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Cited: http://www.changetheclimate.org/

T IN QUANDRY OVER ADS

The MBTA has just found itself caught between the proverbial rock and
a  hard place. The U.S.  Circuit Court of Appeals this week told
officials of the Massachusetts Bay  Transportation Authority that
their refusal to display ads from a group  promoting changes in the
state's marijuana laws was a violation of the First  Amendment. The
ads from Change the Climate questioned the penalties imposed on  those
arrested on minor possession charges. Four years  ago T officials
rejected the ads on the grounds they encouraged marijuana use,  and
that the authority had the right to ban ads that might be offensive to
  riders.

And to a certain extent the appeals court agreed, ruling in a separate
  case the T did have the right to reject ads from the Church with the
Good News  because they were deemed demeaning or disparaging of other
religions. But the  court noted that some alcohol ads approved by the
MBTA were "clearly more  appealing to juveniles" than the marijuana
ads submitted by Change the Climate.

The court  rebuke came in the same week T General Manager Michael
Mulhern rejected a  request made by the Rider Oversight Committee to
ban those liquor ads. In a letter  to the group, Mulhern said, "If
the MBTA were to ban these ads, the authority  would be giving up
millions of dollars in nonfare revenues, and would need to  tap
another revenue source in order to maintain its carefully balanced
budget." The fact  that the T spent about $800,000 to fight the
marijuana ads makes Mulhern's cost  argument look a little odd.
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MAP posted-by: Derek