The bus belongs to Catholic group, Hazte Oir, which translates as "Make yourself heard." Ignacio Arsuaga, the president of Hazte Oir, argues that they have a right to protest against "laws of sexual indoctrination" and had the right to freedom of speech. The group had planned to visit nine cities with their bright orange tour bus, but the vehicle was impounded after it was spotted in Madrid on Monday. The bus has technically been ordered off the road for breaching municipal rules on outdoor advertising. Judge Jose Juan Escalonilla has made it clear the bus could not move until the slogans, including "if you are born a man, you are a man", were removed.

Hazte Oir had planned to take it on a nationwide tour of Spanish cities. Other messages on the bus read "boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled" and "if you are a woman, you will continue to be one". The public prosecutor is currently investigating whether it is a possible hate crime. Escalonilla did not find the bus went as far as being a hate crime, but he did say that he believed the messages were an "act of contempt" meant to "injure" the dignity of people of a different sexual orientation, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais. The paper is currently running a poll where 83% of voters agree the bus is freedom of expression and should not be banned.

The bus is a response to posters put up in northern Spain by a transgender rights group, which reads: "There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas. It's as simple as that." You can see that ad at the bottom of this post, it's illustrated with four nude children, two with long hair and two with short hair which is presumably the only way to tell the difference between boys & girls when genitalia doesn't count anymore.

The groups response: a new bus.



Ignacio Arsuaga has said that Madrid City Council's "kidnap" of the bus was "clearly illegal." Mr Arsuaga also said in a press statement that the slogan on the bus stated only "a fact of biology that is studied in schools". Mr Arsuaga said: "We are going to appeal this unjust decision and file a criminal case against the extreme-left Madrid mayor." The group chartered a motorhome on Friday as a stand-in for their impounded bus. The message on the motorhome is slightly altered, it reads "Do the children have a penis? Do the girls have a vulva?"

The group has cut the slogan on the coach, added stickers with question marks and deleted the part that said "Do not be deceived. If you are born man, you are a man. If you are a woman, you will continue to be." When arriving at the capital, the Municipal Police has stopped the new vehicle and has denounced it for violating the local ordinance on external publicity. "We are not going to be intimidated," Ignacio Arsuaga said. The group has been fined but have no plans on stopping.