July 27th, 2009

PRESS RELEASE: 2009-7-27-PR (RTF, 4.6 KB)

The members of the campaign are pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement with Bloomington Transit regarding our lawsuit. A preliminary injunction hearing was scheduled in the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, but Bloomington Transit capitulated in the days leading up to the injunction hearing.

The terms of the settlement are that BT will accept our ad, which features the slogan ‘You Can Be Good Without God’ for posting on as many buses and for as long of a time as we like, for the standard ad rate. They will also be reimbursing the ACLU of Indiana for a significant portion of their legal expenses.

Let’s be straight here: this is a victory not just for atheism and secularism, but for free speech all around. It’s not the end of our campaign, either. We intend to make the most of this victory: look for our message on Bloomington Transit buses in the coming weeks. We also hope the outcome of this suit provides a suitable precedent for the many other atheist bus campaigns around the country trying to get their own ads up.

Finally, we would like to thank our many supporters, who have given us both money and precious words of encouragement. Speaking of money…

We still need your donations. Bloomington’s not the last stop for the atheist bus, but only if we have the necessary cash. Please take a moment to donate using the button over in the sidebar; we are currently surveying new locations for bus ads, and you could be next. Most importantly, putting up new ads generates another round of interest from the press and public about atheism and starts vital conversations about religion and its role in society. If you’re interested in furthering that conversation, please support us.

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