LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)
6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Tennessee has 1st Amendment right, too
The state would be within its rights to issue specialty license plates reading "Choose Life" while denying a plate encouraging abortion rights, a U.S. appeals court ruled yesterday.
Messages on Tennessee license plates are government speech, not a public forum as the American Civil Liberties Union argued, the majority decision of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. While one-sidedness may be "ill-advised" on politically charged issues like abortion, the court ruled there's nothing in the First Amendment that prohibits it.
What is happening to the judiciary in this country? Is it fear, as Sandra Day O'Connor suggests?
EDIT: I have become aware that my original intent was not made clear. Let me state it bluntly. Government has responsibilities. Government does not have civil rights. Civil rights are what we use to protect ourselves from the encroachment of government. That was the thought process behind my question above.