It's a small sign igniting a big debate. An official state of Colorado Adopt-a-Highway placard announcing that a one-mile long stretch of US Highway 85 is sponsored not by the Boy Scouts or the Lions Club, but by the Nazi Party of Colorado.
Members call themselves the National Socialist Movement. They are inspired by teachings of Hitler, believe interracial relationships and homosexuality should be crimes, and they want to start a separate all-white country.
The Adopt-a-Highway program, they say, is a good PR move for them and a recruiting tool.
"We want to let them know that we're here and we do good things," Unit leader Neal Land told FOX 31 News. "We're upstanding citizens, try to be good people, and try to portray ourselves that way."
When the Nazi's first applied for the stretch of highway just south of Bromley lane in Brighton, the Colorado Department of Transportation called to say thanks, but no thanks.
But the law, it turns out, was on the Nazi's side.
"Courts around the country have allowed white supremacists to sponsor highway signs," says Anti-Defamation League Director Bruce DeBoskey. So although the Anti-Defamation League couldn't be more opposed to the Nazi movement, it advised the state to put the application through.
"To have our freedom we have to have all kinds of speech, and this is a case where hate speech is protected," DeBoskey said. "This organization stands for hate. It's a white supremacist group. It is a neo-Nazi group."
CDOT says the Nazi's have yet to actually pick up any trash on the road. And officials will be watching to make sure the group fulfills its obligation. CDOT will also pull the group's sponsorship if it creates a distraction or hazard on the road.
(Thanx Chris!)
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