Bible-Toting Woman Files Lawsuit Against Transit Agency

CNSNews.com Correspondent ^ | June 18, 2003 | Joanne M. Haas

[scab4faa]

Milwaukee (CNSNews.com) - A Milwaukee, Wis., woman who was stopped from distributing free Bibles while riding a city bus has filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the transit agency's policy is too broad and violates her First Amendment rights.

Gail Anderson, 56, contends she was escorted off a Milwaukee County Transit System bus in the summer of 2002 after the driver asked her to stop distributing without charge the Book of Hope Bible to other riders.

Nearly a year after the original incident, Anderson's lawsuit was filed June 9 in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Wisconsin. Mathew D. Staver and Rena Lindevaldsen, attorneys affiliated with Liberty Counsel of Orlando, Fla., are representing Anderson.

Requests for comment from the Milwaukee County Transit System were ignored.

The lawsuit argues that the transit policy prohibiting literature prevents more speech than is necessary and is not evenly enforced "because to do so would require that no one could distribute a business card, directions or even pass a newspaper." This uneven enforcement puts it in violation of the First Amendment, the attorneys said.

"Passengers don't shed their constitutional rights when they enter public transportation venues," Staver said. "People exchange addresses, business cards, newspapers or books all the time on public buses. It is unconstitutional to ban all literature distribution to single out the Christian viewpoint."

[annyokie]

Pardon my French; but Quelle est probleme? How can the PETA folks give my kids their propaganda at the circus and this gal can't hand out Bibles?

[miltonfried]

I guess because the bus is public property and the circus isn't (perhaps the PETA folks are trespassing at the circus, but I'm not sure about that point. At any rate, I think this woman is right, the rule is too constrictive.

[annyokie]

You may be right. How about the Gideons and the Bibles in Motel rooms?

[exit82]

Gideons always ask the hotel/motel owner if they can place the Bibles. They are free to the hotel/motel, paid for by the Gideons. Some owners say no.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Come on, folks.

This woman was doing this ON the bus - not the bus stop. You wanna have flocks of Moonies and Hari-Krishna freaks shoveling their tripe on you and clicking their castinets when you're riding home after a day's work?

Not likely.

Let the lady do her thing at the bus stop or on the street or someother public space.

[ChefKeith]

I have stayed in more hotels than I could possibly remember and have NEVER been to one that did not have a Bible in the room.

[exit82]

Beleieve it or not, the refusal to allow Bibles to be placed is becoming more common in the US. It's not a major problem, but if it indicates a future trend, it makes one wonder.Overseas, they accept the Bibles willingly with the exception of the Moslem world.

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[Grig]

"You wanna have flocks of Moonies and Hari-Krishna freaks shoveling their tripe on you and clicking their castinets when you're riding home after a day's work?"

Cool. Entertainment for the trip home. :)

[vpintheak]

I agree 100% with you. If you let one religion do it you gotta let them all. I am a staunch Lutheran myself.

[waRNmother.armyboots]

So... if a Hari Krishna approaches you it would give you a chance to share your faith. A door opened by God to testify of His wondrous love and grace.

[Kozak]

I guess because the bus is public property and the circus isn't (perhaps the PETA folks are trespassing at the circus, but I'm not sure about that point. At any rate, I think this woman is right, the rule is too constrictive.

No way. The city has every right to ban the distribution of printed material on the buses. First it will cause a mess and result in costs of cleanup and maintenance. Second its annoying and remember people on a bus are a captive audience, with no where to run. If she gets to hand out bibles, the next guy gets to hand out the "Watchtower", and the next gets to hand out those little flyers for the escort service and porn shops ala Las Vegas. She has every right to try and hand out her Bibles on the street at the bus stop, but not to bother ME when I've paid my fare.

[em2vn]

A city bus is a public place. From the posting it appears she was giving them away, not selling them. If she was seeking to force them on people it would change matters. However, I don't see any indication that she was.

[WorkingClassFilth]

"A city bus is a public place."

Yeah, true if not owned by a private company. In any event, it is a public space that is fundamentally different from a park or open space. Some consideration for privacy and decorum is needed and this is why boom-boxes and other broadcasting types of electronics are usually banned.

As I said before, the last thing I'd want is an army of freaks peddling their lunacy on captives as they travel to and from work.

The Bible lady is free to hand out whatever she likes someplace else. Jesus isn't going to shovel souls into hell because this woman can't do as she pleases on public transit.

[giotto]

people on a bus are a captive audience

All the more reason to allow her to pass out Bibles. Haven't you ever been stuck on a bus or waiting in some long line and wished you had something to read? I carry a pocket Constitution in my purse, just for those times when there's nothing to read. How do you know that someone she has handed a Bible to hasn't then turned his life around because of her kind act?

[Kozak]

Are you gonna feel the same way if handed the porn flyer? Or the Watchtowert? Or Krishna's way or the million other potential sources?

[giotto]

First of all, someone passing out porn on public transit would be arrested on the spot (if not killed by irate passengers first.) Secondly, there is a word you can use to prevent being handed something you don't want, such as a Watchtower or Krishna pamphlet. That word is no.

[Kozak]

First of all, someone passing out porn on public transit would be arrested on the spot (if not killed by irate passengers first.) Secondly, there is a word you can use to prevent being handed something you don't want, such as a Watchtower or Krishna pamphlet. That word is no.

Clearly you have never been Las Vegas and tried to go for a walk down the street, haveing flyers and ad mags thrust under your nose and into your hand. You will then see the stuff all over the seats and tucked into the edge of the window and stuck to the seat in front of you. But I guess under your scenario of just say no, you can just ride with your eyes closed.

[Xenalyte]

Minor quibble: there's a difference between "Bible-toting" (which means "carrying a Bible" and connotes carrying one for personal use) and distributing Bibles.