Below The Beltway

An advertisement that was set to run on the side of public buses in Des Moines, Iowa has been pulled:

Some ads rolling through the Des Moines area on DART busses are stirring up controversy. The ads appeared innocent enough, but Monday, DART removed them.

The ads, paid for by the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, say “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”

“We wanted to do it in order to let people know — who are atheists, free-thinkers, secular humanists — that they are not alone, that there are places for them to go and meet people and to be involved,” says Randy Henderson, president of the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers.

DART claims it received numerous phone calls from people who were offended by the ads, and that the signs had been installed before the advertising commission had approved them.

IAF says DART has not returned its phone calls and that they’re left feeling puzzled and frustrated.

Here’s a video report on the story:

Not surprisingly, the story has become something of a political issue in Iowa, with the Governor refusing to acknowledge the First Amendment rights of his constituents:

Gov. Chet Culver weighed in on the controversial Des Moines bus ad that has been yanked after multiple complaints.

“I was disturbed, personally, by the advertisement and I can understand why other Iowans were also disturbed by the message that it sent,” Culver said.

The question will likely become a legal battle, Culver said. He deferred questions of whether the group deserves the same free speech rights as Christian organizations to advertise on the buses to the Iowa Attorney General.

Apparently, questions of individual liberty are too controversial for politicians.

H/T: The Pajama Pundit