[20191211]LSB10383_宗教演讲和广告：电流回路分裂及其对国会的启示.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Religious Speech and Advertising: Current Circuit Split and its Implications for Congress December 11, 2019 On September 17, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit), in a divided decision, held that a transit systems policy banning ads with religious and atheistic messages violated the First Amendments Free Speech Clause. This decision came shortly after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) held that a similar ban was a permissible and reasonable regulation in a nonpublic forum. A petition to review (i.e., certiorari) the D.C. Circuit case is currently pending before the Supreme Court. Although the two cases differ slightly, together, they present the question of when a blanket ban on religion as a subject matter becomes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. This developing split amongst the circuit courts, while relevant to the specific context of the regulation of local transit systems, may have broader implications for Congress and free speech law that this Sidebar explores in more detail. First Amendment and