May the government prohibit extremist groups from participating in adopt-a-highway programs?
This is a developing legal question about which the courts are in conflict. An adopt-a-highway program enables community groups or businesses to sign up to keep clean a specific segment of a highway. In return, the organization receives a sign posted on its segment stating that it is responsible for the upkeep of that portion of the highway. It appears that the First Amendment requires the government to allow extremist groups to participate in adopt-a-highway programs, in most cases. The government may not ban an extremist group from such a program on the grounds that the group’s participation would stain the image of the state Department of Transportation or give the false appearance that the government endorses the group’s message.
Related Questions
- Why can the government simply prohibit extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan from expressing their hateful views in public?
- May the government prohibit an extremist group from inserting its own leaflets into mainstream newspapers?
- May a public radio station prohibit extremist groups from sponsoring programs?
