Tampa-Area Transit System’s Religious Ad Ban Unconstitutional

The Tampa-area transit authority’s ban on religious ads violates the First Amendment’s free speech guarantee on its face and as applied to a synagogue’s ad for a Chanukah-themed skating event that was rejected, a federal court in Florida said.

A Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority policy prohibits “Advertisements that primarily promote a religious faith or religious organization.”

Young Israel of Tampa sued HART after the agency rejected a 2020 ad for the synagogue’s “Chanukah on Ice” event that featured a menorah, the central aspect of the Jewish holiday.

HART’s religious ad ban constitutes impermissible viewpoint discrimination, Judge Virginia M. Hernandez ...