A second federal judge has ruled that a sweeping restriction on the privately funded speech of groups participating in the federal government's international HIV/AIDS program violates the First Amendment. On May 18, a federal judge ruled that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) violated the First Amendment by requiring public health groups to pledge their "opposition to prostitution" in order to continue receiving federal funds for their HIV prevention work. Under the requirement, recipients of federal funds were forced to adopt the policy when discussing the most effective ways to engage high-risk groups in HIV prevention even when privately raised dollars were used for the activity. This ruling follows on the heels of a similar May 9 decision by Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Alliance for Open Society International v. USAID. In the newest opinion, Judge Emmett G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the Supreme Court "has repeatedly held that the government may not compel private organizations or individuals to speak in a content-specific, view-point specific manner as a condition of participating in a government program." The court held that the pledge requirement violates the First Amendment rights of DKT International by restricting their privately-funded speech and by forcing them to adopt the government's viewpoint in order to remain eligible for funds. "By mandating that DKT adopt an organization-wide policy against prostitution, the government exceeds its ability to limit the use of government funds," Sullivan wrote. In his ruling, Sullivan enjoined the government from (1) requiring DKT to have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking, and (2) requiring DKT to certify that it has a policy explicitly opposing prostitution. The injunction will block the government from demanding the organization take the pledge should the legal case continue. The government has 60 days to file a notice of appeal. It is currently unclear whether the government will appeal. The ruling stems from an August 2005 lawsuit challenging a provision in the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 that required organizations to pledge their opposition to sex trafficking and prostitution or lose federal funding. DKT International sued the USAID when they were denied a $60,000 grant to market condoms in Vietnam because the organization refused to certify that it has a "policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking." DKT provides social marketing programs in nine countries to deliver family planning products and services. DKT argued that following the certification would have undermined its work to reach those most at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS (i.e. sex workers who are already marginalized). The group also argued the certification requirement was an unconstitutional coercion of speech by private individuals