King Co. sued over 'Israeli War Crimes' bus ads [View all]

<snip>

"A group that wanted to run ads critical of Israel on Metro Buses has sued King County, saying Executive Dow Constantine's decision to suspend non-commercial bus advertising following complaints about the anti-Israel ads violate the First Amendment.

The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union filed their challenge in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Wednesday. Late last month Constantine suspended non-commercial ads following complaints about the SMAC's planned campaign which included large ads that read, "Israeli War Crimes Your Tax Dollars At Work."

Constantine said such ads could introduce security concerns. County officials are working on a new advertising policy that they hope to have ready by the end of this month. King County Metro's current policy about bus advertising restricts messages about pornography, tobacco and alcohol and images and material that could threaten public safety.

In its lawsuit, SMAC said the county has long accepted ads containing non-commercial speech, including spots about the Mideast conflict between Israelis and Palestinians."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/433715_busads19.html?source=mypi