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TAMPA - A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit by the Christian group Focus on the Family against the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, which refused an advertisement for an anti-homosexuality conference.
In a decision from the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals made public Friday, the court ruled a federal judge in Tampa erred when he threw out the group's 2001 lawsuit against the PSTA.
The appeals court said Focus on the Family can pursue its claim of First Amendment violations. The bus system had refused to allow the group to advertise its "Love Won Out" convention in St. Petersburg.
"This is a great victory - we are elated," said Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy for Focus on the Family.
Neither the attorney for the bus system, nor its executive director, immediately returned phone calls Friday.
While private companies can usually reject advertising they don't want, the question in this case is whether a government entity working through a private company can if it believes some might find the ads offensive.
The PSTA had a contract with an advertising company, Eller Media, that owns and manages 500 bus shelters. The two split the advertising revenues, but the transit company holds the final say on all advertisements placed on the shelters. Eller Media isn't named in the lawsuit.
Focus on the Family wanted to advertise its February 2000 conference discussing homosexuality and promoting its theory that homosexuality can be prevented or overcome through prayer and religious practice.
Minnery said the conferences are held in about five cities nationwide each year and about 25,000 people have attended about 25 "Love Won Out" conferences. Pinellas County is the only place in the nation where conference advertisements have been banned, he said.
Focus on the Family was refunded nearly $5,000 it paid to have posters installed in the shelters a month before the seminar. The group sued, arguing the government cannot limit advertisement because it fears the message might offend some.