Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has spearheaded a coalition of 26 states in filing a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court. This coalition opposes the Hillsborough County Transit Authority’s policy that prohibits religious speech in advertising. The coalition contends that the policy infringes upon the First Amendment rights of Young Israel of Tampa, a Jewish synagogue, which sought to advertise on public transportation in Tampa, Florida.
Attorney General Marshall stated, “By unlawfully denying a Jewish synagogue’s proposed holiday advertisement solely because it was religious, the transit authority brazenly targeted religious speech as the object of its discrimination. Our 26-state coalition recognizes that such discrimination is a direct attack on the First Amendment, and we look forward to continuing our support of Young Israel.”
The issue arose when the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) rejected Young Israel of Tampa’s advertisement for its “Chanukah on Ice” event, citing its religious nature. In contrast, HART accepted an advertisement for a “Winter Village” event because it was not religious. This distinction led HART to approve the secular advertisement while rejecting the religious one, highlighting the transit authority’s no-religious-speech advertising policy.
Previously, Alabama has led two multistate briefs in support of Young Israel before the Eleventh Circuit. The current coalition includes the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The coalition urges the U.S. Supreme Court to review HART’s policy, emphasizing the importance of protecting First Amendment rights and opposing discrimination based on religious speech.
