BERLIN — What qualifies as objectionable or in poor taste in advertising is the subject of a federal suit filed this week by an animal rights protection advocate against the Lower Shore’s public transportation system.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) this week filed suit against Shore Transit and the Tri-County Council of the Lower Eastern Shore seeking injunctions after the quasi-government entities denied their application to run advertising with the public transportation system. PETA first applied to run its ads on the Shore Transit buses last year and was denied.
PETA then renewed its application last month, asserting Shore Transit’s denial violated First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech and expression. When Shore Transit and its parent Tri-County Council did not respond, PETA filed suit in U.S. District Court this week asking for preliminary and permanent injunctions against the transit system’s advertising policies.
“PETA’s advertisements, which feature the slogan ‘No One Needs to Kill to Eat,’ advocate the closure of animal slaughterhouses,” the complaint reads. “Shore Transit denied the applications, responding the advertisements were too offensive for its marker and political in nature.”
The complaint asserts Shore Transit’s guidelines for accepting advertising were overreaching and violated First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
GOOD FOR SHORE TRANSIT. At some point, when does a business or person get their right back to have an opinion and just say NO. No thank you, I do not want to have your ad on my busses. In this case, they never answered the request, avoiding saying no due to political BS. Do we not have the right to not respond to an advertising request? Crazy how everything has to now be so inclusive, that an opinion or saying no is almost not possible any more!
PETA, put aside your assertions until humans are uniformly born without canine teeth.