THE T JUST SAYS NO

Federal Judge Uphold's T's Right To Ban Certain Political Messages

Last week, a federal judge ruled in favor of the MBTA in a First Amendment
lawsuit brought against them by Change the Climate, an organization founded
in 1999 "for the purpose of raising public awareness about marijuana
issues." They were denied advertising space on the MBTA transit system
because the ads "promote the use of marijuana in a subtle way," according
to Lucy Shorter, the director of marketing communications at the T at that
time.

But according to the deposition of Joseph White, founder and executive
director of Change the Climate, they "in no way advocate the use of
marijuana or any violation of existing laws." They are simply trying to
encourage public debate about "the negative consequences of marijuana laws
on our children, the differences between marijuana and other drugs, the
extraordinary resources our government has devoted to marijuana law
enforcement, and the proven beneficial medical and industrial uses."
Clearly, the MBTA doesn't believe this debate is an important one.

The MBTA has spent over $500,000 fighting this lawsuit, according to the
Boston Globe. They have previously lost similar lawsuits brought against
them by the AIDS Action Committee, pro-choice organizations and an animal
rights organization for challenging advertising content.

Yet they seem to have no problem continuing to bankroll these crusades.

The Weekly Dig filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the MBTA
almost 90 days ago to find out exactly how much money they have spent
fighting these cases.

As this issue goes to press, we still have not been given the figures.
Whatever the amount, this money spent silencing freedom of speech could
obviously be used in better ways, such as improving T service.

But this is not simply a case of poor spending by the MBTA. According to
their General Manager Michael T. Mulhern, their goal in denying the ad
space was "protecting the thousands of schoolchildren who ride the T every
day from offensive advertising." Yet they seem to have no problem running
ads pitching alcohol, objectifying women and men, and generally promoting
an unhealthy lifestyle of massive consumerism.

The ruling judge, US District Judge Robert E. Keeton, seems to perceive the
inconsistency of the MBTA's decision.

Saying their advertising guidelines were "constitutionally flawed," he
ordered them to create an advisory board to come up with new ones. This
board is to be made up of various public groups, including organizations
like Change the Climate. Yet he didn't force the T to run the ads, so White
said they "expect to be appealing to the First Circuit Appeals Court."

Change the Climate has run two successful campaigns in Washington, D.C. on
the Metro transit system, and will be running a third starting this month.
White said, "We will be focusing our advertising efforts in other key
cities as well." You can check out the ads at www.changetheclimate.org, and
if their appeal should prove successful, you'll be seeing them on Boston's
buses, trains and subway platforms in the future.

Additional reporting by Joe Bonni.