by James A. Bacon
A few days ago I bemoaned state-imposed restrictions on the right of two Oregon bakers, Aaron and Melissa Klein, to publicly explain the reasons for their religion-based opposition to serving couples in gay weddings. Could such a transgression against free speech happen in Virginia, I asked. If it did, I would vigorously oppose it.
Well, such a thing has happened in Virginia, although it has nothing to do with gay marriage. Rather, the City of Norfolk ordered a business owner to take down a sign on the side of his building protesting the seizure of his property by eminent domain. The offending words:
50 years on this street
78 years in Norfolk
100 workers threatened by eminent domain
The horror! The horror!
Bob Wilson, the owner of Central Radio, a radio repair company, resisted the condemnation of his property by Old Dominion University by erecting a 375-square-foot sign on the side of his building as seen in the photo above. A city ordinance prohibits signs larger than 60 square feet. To avoid fines of up to $1,000 per day, Wilson covered the sign… and sued. The local court sided with the city. So did the Circuit Court of Appeals. And so, in June, did the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in a unanimous decision, declared that a municipal code that treats some signs differently than others based on their subject matter is “presumptively unconstitutional.”
Bacon’s bottom line: If the Kleins had been prescient, they would have expressed their views (which, for the record, I do not agree with) in a sign on the side of their bakery. The right of Americans to express views objectionable to those in power is perhaps the most fundamental safeguard against tyranny they possess. All Virginians should rejoice in Bob Wilson’s victory — and thank the Institute for Justice for taking up his case.
