easily offended

Don't believe in God? You are not alone.

Apparently, this sentiment offends the Governor of Iowa.

Gov. Chet Culver weighed in on the controversial Des Moines bus ad that has been yanked after multiple complaints.

“I was disturbed, personally, by the advertisement and I can understand why other Iowans were also disturbed by the message that it sent,” Culver said.

The question will likely become a legal battle, Culver said. He deferred questions of whether the group deserves the same free speech rights as Christian organizations to advertise on the buses to the Iowa Attorney General.

Culver also declined to answer if he would also have gotten off the bus had he been a rider, but noted that he would have been offended by the ad’s message.

What, exactly, is Governor Culver offended by? The notion that atheists exist? The notion that atheists exist openly? The notion that atheists have free speech? The notion that some atheists feel isolated in the Corn Belt?

Even if Culver is "disturbed" by any of the above, he has to know that this is an open-and-shut matter of viewpoint discrimination prohibited under the First Amendment--never mind the Constitution of the state of Iowa. Culver, in pretending otherwise, and refusing to stand up for the rights of all Iowans, has revealed himself to not only be a bigot, but a political coward.



Update: The ads are going back on the buses. Better yet, the advertising policy is being rewritten to better reflect First Amendment rights. No thanks to Culver.