KKK Wants To ‘Adopt A Highway’

The first amendment gets another challenge in Georgia, and it looks like a sticky situation after the Ku Klux Klan applied to “adopt” a mile-long stretch of highway and keep it clean. This common practice for community-minded businesses would also assure them of a road sign advertising the group’s efforts.

The request is being reviewed by the Georgia Department of Transportation and a ruling on the request filed by International Keystone Knights of the KKK in Union County is expected after a meeting with the state attorney general about how to move forward.

The problem is that denying the application could violate the group’s First Amendment rights, but state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, head of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, thinks the legal fight is worth it.

In order for Georgia to avoid the problem altogether they could just end the 23 year-old highway adoption plan.  Klan leader Harley Hanson says that approach would be ridiculous.

“We just want to clean up the doggone road,” he said. “We’re not going to be out there in robes.”

[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]