The U.S. Postal Service violated the First Amendment when it rejected artwork for a customized stamp it deemed too political, a federal district court said.
Anatol Zukerman is an artist who wished to promote a 2015 show by having 40 stamps made as part of the USPS’s customized stamp program. Zukerman’s proposed stamp showed Uncle Sam being strangled by a snake shaped like a dollar sign emblazoned with the words “Citizens United,” and other text saying “Democracy Is Not for Sale.”
In a 30-page opinion on Friday granting summary judgment to artist Anatol Zukerman, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper held that Zukerman proved the Postal Service’s vendor, Zazzle, engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it rejected Zukerman’s custom stamp design for being political.