Georgia Court Rules KKK Can Continue Bid To ‘Adopt’ Highway

FILE- In this June 10, 2012 file photo, from left, Knighthawk, April Hanson and her husband Harley Hanson, members of the International Keystone Knights Realm of Georgia, perform a traditional Klan salute along the p... FILE- In this June 10, 2012 file photo, from left, Knighthawk, April Hanson and her husband Harley Hanson, members of the International Keystone Knights Realm of Georgia, perform a traditional Klan salute along the portion of highway they want to adopt allowing them to put up a sign and do litter removal near Blairsville, Ga. A Georgia court is weighing whether the state violated the Ku Klux Klan group's constitutional rights by refusing to allow it to participate in a highway cleanup program. The Georgia Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case Thursday, July 9, 2015, and will issue a decision in the coming months. The group's application for the Adopt-A-Highway program was denied in 2012. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation sued on the group's behalf, saying its right to free speech was violated. (Curtis Compton/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT MORE LESS

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s highest court has ruled that the Ku Klux Klan’s lawsuit over its bid to ‘adopt’ a highway can continue.

In a unanimous decision announced Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed the state’s appeal of a lower court ruling. Court officials say the Georgia Department of Transportation failed to follow the correct procedures in filing its appeal.

In a summary of the ruling, the court called its decision a “partial victory” for the KKK, saying it means the group’s lawsuit against Georgia may proceed to trial. The north Georgia KKK group sued the state after it denied the group’s application to participate in Georgia’s “Adopt-A-Highway” program, which enlists volunteer groups to clean up roadside litter.

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation sued on the KKK’s behalf, saying its free speech rights were violated.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. And I always thought The Great White Way was in Manhattan.

  2. Are they that cash strapped that they let something like this stand? Or was this something the courts had no choice over? Are the sunglasses meant to hide their identities from friends and family or what? Is that a salute they’re giving in the photo? Sometimes, as a card carrying member of the ACLU, one has to hold their nose. The KKK is about as odious an organization as you will see. It’s difficult to come up with their equivalent in the political spectrum.

  3. Better to keep them in the light of day.

  4. Same thing happened in St. Louis. Only the state legislature renamed the highway after Rosa Parks after which the KKK dropped their petition.

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