The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a county law that it alleges unconstitutionally limits when individuals can place political signs on their property.
The Baltimore County Council voted in December to cap the lifespan of campaign signs on private property to the 45 days before Election Day, because it believes the signs are eyesores and potential traffic hazards. The new law takes effect today.
“Like bandits in the night snatching the yard signs of their constituents, the County Council has voted to unconstitutionally limit our free speech rights,” retired Maryland state trooper and former Republican county executive candidate Clarence Bell, who?s one of seven plaintiffs represented by the ACLU.
“That?s why I?m proud to stand with other county residents from across the political spectrum to demand that our voices be restored,” he said.
The ACLU of Maryland repeatedly urged the County Council to abandon the proposal, but was rebuffed, causing the organization to file the lawsuit, the ACLU said.
“Putting up a yard sign is an easy way to express your views, and it?s an inexpensive way to do that,” ACLU of Maryland Legal Director Deborah A. Jeon said. “We don?t think the government should be meddling in our right to do that. The courts have found repeatedly that to be true.”
The lawsuit charges that the Baltimore County zoning regulation unconstitutionally restricts the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of county residents by preventing them from displaying political campaign signs on their private property, which the ACLU says amounts to a ban on political speech for anywhere from seven to 10 months each year.
