TO THE EDITOR:
The town of Chapel Hill may choose to run the Israel-divestment bus advertisement, but it is well within its legal rights to refuse to run the advertisement.
Moreover, refusing to run the advertisement does not constitute censorship or violate freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not afford the right to use government owned facilities to project personal feelings.
Rather, freedom of speech merely ensures the right of the citizens to have and voice their opinion in general.
Chapel Hill Transit buses are owned by the city, and as such, are not under the jurisdiction of freedom of speech.
By refusing advertisement space, the town of Chapel Hill has not said that people do not have the right to make a statement or make signs, simply that they do not have the right to put their opinion on government owned property.
These people are still able to carry signs in town if they obtain proper permits and are able to host meetings on their privately owned property.
The same way that the town of Chapel Hill can create regulations declaring acceptable flag sizes or sign placements, the city, too, has a right to sell (or not sell) advertisement space to whomever it chooses.
The city has a right and an obligation to protect all of its citizens, and if it feels something is offensive to the public in general and may disrupt the peace, the city does not and should not sponsor it on its property.
