Religion Kills Free Speech

A billboard with the message "Imagine No Religion" is no more.

Sign company General Outdoor removed the sign by the Freedom From Religion Foundation on Thursday after it received a request by the city to do so.

According to Redevelopment Director Linda Daniels, City Hall had received 90 calls of complaint since Wednesday.

"We contacted the sign company and asked if there was a way to get it removed," Daniels said.

The billboard - which went up last week on the southwest corner of Archibald Avenue and Foothill Boulevard - is part of a national billboard campaign by the Wisconsin-based group advocating the separation of church and state.

The foundation's co-president, Annie Laurie Gaylor, said the billboard is meant to encourage a debate on religion by using the John Lennon-inspired message.

Gaylor was shocked over the city's role in the billboard's demise.

"The city has no business suggesting our billboard be censored," Gaylor said. "They're not allowed to interfere over religious controversy."

It was the second billboard to come down following city request.

In September, the city asked a different sign company to take down an advertisement on Foothill Boulevard advertising a vagina rejuvenation procedure.

Daniels said the city did not demand General Outdoor take down the "Imagine No Religion" sign.

"We didn't say they had to (take it down), but they respected the
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concerns of residents," Daniels said.

The sign was the first in California for the foundation, whose members are atheists and agnostics.

Gaylor said sign companies have declined business before, but no company has taken down a sign after it went up.

The group currently has signs in Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle.

"My gosh, we have a billboard in Colorado Springs right now, about a mile from Focus on the Family," said Gaylor, referring to the evangelical organization headquartered in Colorado Springs. "If we can have it in Colorado Springs, why not in Rancho Cucamonga? It doesn't speak well for the state of tolerance if you have to stifle your critics."

Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, said the city's actions are "dangerously close" to censorship and a violation of the First Amendment.

"A city government has no business trying to dictate or influence the content of an advertising image, particularly one that's political and controversial as this is simply because some people don't like it and complained about it," Scheer said. "The whole point of the First Amendment is to protect speech that is unpopular, to protect the views that are in the political minority, as long as they don't cross the line and use the speech for some seriously unlawful purpose, which clearly did not happen here."

Scheer said the city may not have forced General Outdoor to take down the sign, but it's obvious the company did not act independently.

"It's pretty clear that if the city didn't pick up the phone, the image would still be there," Scheer said.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/6b5stc

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• atheist
• atheism
• advertisements
• billboard
• freedom
• speech
• cucamonga

[Michael500ca]

The ones that are offended are the ones with the problem. The christians just whine and whine like little children. Watch for many more of these billboards to go up. Already I see them on buses in Canada and have seen some in the US and they are increasing. You christians out there better rethink yourselves. Eliminating free speech is what got Hitler started.

[ixnay66]

@IcedCoffee81 The word God was ADDED to the pledge of allegiance in 1953 due to people being scared of communism. In God We Trust wasn't put on paper money until 1956. Christianity was never what this country was based on. There was ALWAYS a separation of church and state. What do you think our forefathers were getting away from? A king that was "appointed" by god. So like you, the forefathers of this country left THEIR country because they didn't like the norms.

[contentina]

Next time I see an add about god I'll start a riot until its taken down. So much for American freedom.

[Tuber77]

Dose the FFRF really think if you put up enough of these signs. That everybody is going to magically become an atheist. As a Agnostic. I can say there wasting there time and money on these stupid ads. All these Ads do is reinforce stereotypes that people already have about Atheist. But i dont suspect a organization like the FFRF to understand that.

[Jbear9]

@GenerationBright While the priests and pastors are canoodling the little children.

[Jbear9]

If religious people are so sure and steadfast in their "faith," why are they so easily lead astray or offended?

[Jbear9]

Shame on general outdoor advertising for caving in to the closed-minded doofus holes.

[GenerationBright]

What it says: "Imagine no Religion"

What it means: "Imagine no Religion"

What Christians think it means: "We have anal sex with the devil"

[autopsy87]

Amazing how sheeple think. I wave the flag, I love the USA because we're free, anything I disagree with shouldnt be allowed.

[37butterflyprincess]

so if atheists and agnostics bitched every time a religious billboard went up would they take it down? of course not.

[Bubblesatx]

Freedom From Religion

[tuuky]

@TheRainMustFall It's not amazing at all. For a government to rule with the power the US government has on its people (I live here, btw), you have to rely on their ignorance and under-education. But it's not everybody and our (free thinkers) numbers are growing. I think things will get better... eventually.