South Bend Protesters Missed "The Atheist Bus"
University town faces another tough week
By PEGGY CASSIDY
Updated 2:26 PM CST, Wed, Jul 22, 2009
Anti-abortion protesters flocked to South Bend, Ind., last week to decry President Barack Obama's appearance at the University of Notre Dame for Sunday's graduation.
Critics of the university said that Obama's position on abortion is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and, therefore, the teachings of Notre Dame.
One wonders where those protesters are now, as the board that runs South Bend's city bus system agrees to allow ads on buses from an atheist group.
The ads by the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign read, "You can be good without God."
Last week's protesters didn't seem to see it that way, but the group's efforts to have the ads installed on 20 Transpo buses before Obama's visit fell short.
The advertising agency that handles the bus ads said it needed approval from South Bend's Transpo board, which didn't meet until Monday.
Board chairman Chip Lewis said Transpo has accepted ads from religious organizations, and so to deny the atheist ads would be inconsistent.
"We're not criticizing religion," a member of the Indiana group said. "We're just saying that religion doesn't have a monopoly on morals."
The city bus agency in Bloomington, Ind., recently rejected similar ads, prompting a lawsuit, but the campaign has run successfully in London, Dallas, Denver and Philadelphia.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Chicago
First Published: May 19, 2009 2:15 PM CST
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