In Broken Arrow, OK, please do not preach on the busThanks to Tony Rosen, author of I Am Always Right, I found a link to this story.
The Broken Arrow Bus Service, or BABS, regulates the behavior of its passengers, forbidding them from eating, drinking, fighting or using vulgar language while on the bus.
Such is very common on all public buses. However:
No public speech will be allowed on the bus, which may include but is not necessarily limited to religion, politics, economics or finance.
It did not take long for someone to file a suit on this matter. The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Vincenza Siano and her daughter, Lucretia Bacon challenging it. They regularly ride the bus about three times a week and enjoy discussing a wide range of topics including their religious faith during their ride.
The one thing that is a bit uncommon is that the City of Broken Arrow contracts with a local charity to operate the bus, and the city attorney said he had not had any information about the rules until the reporters started calling and asking questions. I almost believe him, because almost any attorney would have vetoed that idea off the bat.
However, I can also understand why someone might want to write a rule like that for a public transportation system. When I lived in Dallas, there were regularly street preacher, most of whom I suspected were mentally ill, who would preach to everyone at the top of their lungs all during your ride. Some people, like me, if one of them got on, would either ignore them, or would get off immediately at the next stop and catch the next bus. From the story, I suspect you might be waiting a day or more before the next bus came around, though. However, I do not think this one will go very far before that policy is thrown out the window. I can almost be the city attorney got on the phone really fast to tell the charity company to do so.
Posted by Tiger at May 3, 2003 06:58 PM