ACLU Complains About $5 Fee For Political Signs In Yards (OH)

POSTED: 11:07 am EDT May 11, 2008

AKRON, Ohio -- The American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing two Akron suburbs for charging a $5 fee for each political sign that residents put in their yards.

Jeff Gamso is legal director of the ACLU in Ohio. He said charging people violates constitutional rights to free speech.

Officials from the village of Silver Lake and Bath Township said the $5 fee is actually a deposit that gets refunded when the signs are taken down, usually after elections.

Bath Township zoning inspector Bill Funk said the regulation has been in effect for at least 15 years.

Silver Lake law director Bob Heydorn said he can't recall a serious complaint about the policy in the 12 years he's been in office.

Gamso said the issue doesn't need to go to court. The ACLU hopes the communities will re-examine the policy and make changes.

http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/16230971/detail.html

Regardless if you get a refund or not, this is ridiculous.

...but it doesn't need to go to court.

Riiiiiight.

This is blatantly unconstitutional.

So people can't put political signs in their own yard without a $5 fee? That's fucked up.

Okay, seriously - WTF?

but I would defy anyone who tried to make me pay to put a political sign on my own property.

I'd plant signs and DEFY the city to issue a citation! This is the sort of BS that needs to be taken to court in order to establish precedent. The whole idea of 'neighborhood associations' just rubs me the wrong way altogether. I hope some civil-rights lawyer is paying attention and deems this worthy of taking on pro bono.

It's sad, but true. My girlfriend's parents live in such a neighborhood. The homeowners association doesn't let them. It's weird, too, because I feel like I'm the only person who is adequately outraged by this. Most people are like "yeah, that's no big deal, a lot of neighborhoods are like that," and I just think, Seriously? I don't know, but it seems like the ACLU would be all over all of these neighborhoods.

Didn't read my own link far enough.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/personal/topic.aspx?topic=yard_signs



Somebody needs to fight this interpretation. You should be able to place a political sign on your own property, period.

We putyjrm out anyway, but only the last month , so when it;s time for complaints there is little time to do anything about it.

I really think that interpretation I quoted above is messed up big time.

the bush gang mantra. 'Good citizens' have nothing to fear. Yeah, right.

I am a 'Good German.' Seig Heil!

Sorry, I don't have sympathy for people who move into a neighborhood with a known HOA and then complain after the fact that they can't do certain things.

and his city was forced to change its sign ordinance. His case went all the way to the state supreme court.

Here are the signs he put up to commemorate the 4000th death in Iraq:

:thumbsup:

:applause:

Other than the fact that they have been wrong for that same number of years.

Step 1: Municipality does something that is a sure
pandering crowd-pleaser but is blatantly unconstitutional.

Step 2: Someone complains to the ACLU or their
local affiliate.

Step 3: ACLU staff attorney writes a letter to said
municipality reminding them, in well-lawyered language, that
their action was blatantly unconstitutional and only a
horse's ass of an attorney would even try to defend the
actions that the municipality took.

Step 4: Municipality backs down from their idiotic
action citing the threats of lawsuits imposed by "the evil
ACLU" and the expense of defending against those lawsuits.

It happens every day in America. Support the ACLU and/or
its local affiliates.

Tesha