Saturday, March 3, 2012

"Go to Hell Barack" Ad in DC Metro Angers US Rep; Ad Is Protected by 1st Amend., Will Stay There

An ad at a DC Metro station -- which starts off criticizing Obama's health care reforms and ends up telling the president to "go to hell" -- has angered Jim Moran, a Democratic congressman from Virginia, the Agence France-Presse website reports today (March 3, 2012).

"Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America's entire medical system. Go to hell Barack," the large ad says.

Moran wrote a letter to Metro general manager Richard Sarles calling for the removal of the advertisement. "The ad is deeply disrespectful of the President of the United States and does not belong in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) network," he wrote.

It turns out that such language is within the accepted limits of American law and such advertisements are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution, guaranteeing free speech. Consequently, the WMATA is not authorized to remove the ad, which will remain at the DC Metro station.
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