A church in Harrisonburg, Virginia was nearly forced to take down several pro-life signs displayed on their property. Although the city denies it, their lawyers believe it was a case of discrimination.
The church, Valley Church of Christ, displayed two signs along a chain link fence–one bore a picture of a fetus and a quote from Mother Teresa, “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” The second featured a picture of an infant and a quote from Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the Womb I Knew You.”
In April, according to the church’s lawyers, they received a letter from the city informing them that someone had complained about the signs. The city claimed that the signs were “banners,” and therefore illegal under local zoning laws. They warned that, if the signs were not removed within 10 days, the church could be charged with a class 1 misdemeanor–punishable with up to 12 months in jail and $2,500 in fines.
“The city’s intent was not to regulate the content of the sign, simply to ensure the structure and material of the sign met the requirements of the ordinance,” the city later said in a statement to WHSV.
They eventually backed down, after lawyers from the conservative Rutherford Institute sent them a letter accusing them of “discrimination” and noting various exceptions to the zoning law. “This kind of preference for banners that express certain messages and discrimination against banners that express other messages is precisely the kind of content-based regulation of speech the First Amendment prohibits,” they wrote.
The city is now “reviewing” the code, according to WHSV.
The institute sent out a release declaring victory in the case, claiming that “the City’s actions constituted discrimination based on the content of the church’s signs, which is a clear violation of the First Amendment.”
(h/t TheBlaze)
