Can the KKK ‘adopt a highway’ in Ga.?

In Georgia’s Union County, the state court of appeals heard arguments on Friday in order to address a prickly question: Can the Ku Klux Klan “adopt” a one-mile stretch of highway under the national “Adopt-A-Highway” program?

Georgia’s attorney general’s office is hoping that the Texas case will influence the state court of appeals when it makes its decision.

As indicated by Reuters, attorney for the state Brittany Bolton argued in court that the road signs are “government speech” which is not protected by the First Amendment.

The chapter has been petitioning and seeking legal assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union ever since the Georgia Department of Transportation denied the Klan’s initial application in 2012.

The state’s Adopt-a-Highway program involves an organization adopting part of a highway to clean up trash and plant trees.

Smith told Geary “Here, the state of Georgia has adopted or created a program where it enlists the participation of civically minded organizations”. A Superior Court judge ruled the state couldn’t deny the application.

The state argued that the Klan case is similar to a Texas case, where the USA Supreme Court ruled that Texas could ban Confederate specialty license plates because they constituted state speech.

Senior assistant attorney general Julie Jacobs said the KKK’s claims are barred by the principle of sovereign immunity, which protects government entities from being sued without their consent.

Begner argued before the judges that the brochure for the Adopt-A-Highway program proves that the act of joining is an expression of speech – it says belonging sends a message to the public that the participant is environmentally conscious.