ATLANTA (AP) — The editor of a gay newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, accused the Ohoopee Regional Library System of censorship for pulling copies of his publication from their lobby in an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ronald Marcus, publisher and editor of The Gay Guardian, sued the Vidalia library last October, claiming officials allowed him to display his newspaper on a table in its lobby but later barred it after receiving several complaints.

Marcus had asked U.S. District Judge B. Avant Edenfield to grant him permission to restock the library table, but the judge refused the request.

In his appeal, Marcus claimed Edenfield incorrectly concluded that certain legal protections for freedom of the press don’t apply to a library lobby.

Beth Littrell, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union representing Marcus, told the court that officials violated his First Amendment rights.

“If the basis for this closing of the table is based on content and viewpoint, the Supreme Court and (the 11th Circuit Court) have said that act is unconstitutional,” Littrell said.

An attorney for the library, Cathy Harris Helms said the table’s original purpose was to display information about the library’s summer reading program and other library initiatives.

“The library didn’t put this table out there for publications like The Gay Guardian to distribute themselves,” she said.

Helms argued the library was asserting its right to control government property, and not trying to voice disapproval of The Gay Guardian.

The court has until the end of the year to issue a ruling.