MBTA Rejects New Condom Campaign

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

MBTA Rejects New Condom Campaign

Boston Globe (10/27/93) P. 21 (Kong, Dolores)

With the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) second rejection of paid condom ads in little more than a year, the state's largest AIDS organization has accused the system of censorship and will sue. The MBTA has declined to accept the ads for fear they may be offensive, but the Massachusetts AIDS Action Committee contends that the transit authority is currently running movie posters for "Fatal Instinct" that are sexually suggestive and more offensive than the proposed condom ads, which feature wrapped prophylactics and catchy phrases promoting safe sex. MBTA officials say they are not censoring the ads--they merely want the wording toned down. "We're not apologizing for the signage," says Larry Kessler, executive director of the committee. "They're direct and clever. They're certainly not obscene." MBTA General Manager John Haley, however, justifies the rejection, noting that passengers vary in age from two months to 90 years old. "We've got to make some judgments as to what is appropriate," he says, adding that some of the condom ads "just go to far." Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney for the Massachusetts Civil Liberties Union, filed suit Tuesday against the MBTA on behalf of the AIDS committee. "It's our contention that they're violating the First Amendment and the state's constitutional right to free speech," she says.

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