David Bowden would rather get screwed than be silenced.
The Cary resident had a painter scrawl “Screwed by the Town of Cary” on his home during a drainage dispute with the town, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. Town leaders didn’t appreciate his blunt assessment, so they told Bowden his message violated the Cary sign ordinance and he would be fined up to $500 a day until he removed it.
David Bowden used his home as a political sign. Image courtesy of the fr33 Asheville blog
In its haste, the town overlooked — or more likely, ignored — the First Amendment, which protects such expressive efforts. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina rushed to the rescue, notifying Cary’s town attorney that “several provisions of the Sign Ordinance, both on their face and as applied to Mr. Bowden, are unconstitutional…”
U.S. courts have consistently ruled that free-speech rights trump government’s authority to regulate residential signs, ACLU Legal Director Katy Parker wrote in a letter to the town. Judges also frown upon selective enforcement of sign ordinances to effectively muzzle political messages with which they disagree.
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