The government may not suppress a viewpoint but this doesnt mean that the government has to advocate for it equally.
Providing another example of why judicial review needs to be reviewed is U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox who just ruled that North Carolina may not offer its Choose Life" license plates. And wait till you hear his reasoning (if you can call it that). Writes MyFox8.com:
A federal judge has ruled it is unconstitutional for North Carolina to issue pro-life license plates unless the state offers similar plates supporting abortion rights.
…Judge Fox concluded The States offering of a Choose Life license plate in the absence of a pro-choice plate constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment."
Allow me to translate: I Caesarean Judge dont like pro-life messages. So Im going to rule against the choose-life plate because I can."
Question: where in the Constitution is it forbidden for states or the feds for that matter to engage in viewpoint discrimination"? The Founding Fathers included no such provision and for good reason.
They were neither on mind-altering medication nor were insane.
The fact is that the very business of governing involves viewpoint discrimination." After all the state must enact laws. And a law by definition is the imposition of a viewpoint.
As an example the battle over Obamacare involved many viewpoints two of which were The federal government has no right to force citizens to purchase a product or service" and The federal government does have a right to force citizens to purchase a product or service." And the feds not only discriminated between those two viewpoints they decided to impose one at the end of a gun.
So here is whats implicit in Judge Foxs reasoning: if the governments viewpoint discrimination involves the forcible imposition of the viewpoint on others its acceptable. But if the government is simply offering a vehicle through which citizens can voluntarily display a viewpoint its not.
Another example of government viewpoint discrimination is public-service announcements. For instance when the government uses tax money to promote the notion that our strength lies in our diversity it has discriminated against the viewpoint that our strength certainly does not lie there.
Another issue here is hinted at by Chris Brook legal director of the organization that filed the lawsuit against the pro-life plates the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation. He rendered the opinion writes MyFox8.com that the government cannot create an avenue to express one side of a political issue while denying an equal opportunity to citizens with an opposing view." He perhaps was very clever to use the word an" as opposed to the" as issues can suggest far more than just two viewpoints.
Just consider the matter at hand. The ACLU would find it acceptable if NC offered an opposing message such as the euphemistic Respect Reproductive Freedom" but this would still leave great discrimination. What of the viewpoints Abortion Controls the Population" Abortionists Should be Aborted" Abortion is a Good" and Abortion is Racism" (an inordinate percentage of aborted babies are black)? Sure these are fringe opinions but so what? It is now our position that a viewpoint may suffer discrimination if its held only by a minority?
Of course that is our position as illustrated with the examples of laws and public-service announcements. Many (not all) reflect popular will that overrode opposing viewpoints whose embrace would have led to an opposing law or no legislation at all. This is called democracy.
The ACLUs Brook also called Foxs ruling a victory for free speech rights." This is nonsense as well much like Sandra Flukes conflation of access to contraception with taxpayer financing of it. Citizens may display any kind of pro-abortion bumper sticker they wish on their vehicles. The government may not suppress a viewpoint but this doesnt mean that the government has to advocate for it equally.
Yet dont be surprised at the conclusions drawn by Fox and Brooks. It is the reasoning of the unreasonable the actions of those who take pride in mastering duplicitous law-craft and do what they do because they can. And I would respond in kind. If I controlled the NC government Id tell the judge that we will stop issuing abortion-related license plates altogether. Instead well offer one with an anti-suicide message.
It just so happens that it will also bear the words Choose Life."
And will have the exact same design as the pro-life plates.
You dont expect us to spend money redesigning a plate given todays budget crunches and all do you?
And therell be no viewpoint discrimination." Well also offer a pro-suicide plate reading Choose Death." Fair is fair.
On the other hand you could just resurrect the spirit of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson and tell Judge Fox that youve decided not to play that judicial review has been reviewed and found wanting. I would say you have made your ruling judge. Now lets see you enforce it.