Religious Signs on Private Property Ruled Illegal.

 

Since when was it a crime to post religious signs on your own property?

Excerpts italicized:

A South Carolina man says his constitutional rights have been violated after he was told by his local government to remove the Bible-themed signs he had posted on his property.

Oscar Moultrie says a Berkeley County, S.C., ordinance that requires residents to obtain government permission before putting up signs on their private property -- other than "for sale," "for rent," political signs, and a few other exceptions -- violates his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Moultrie says he received no complaints about his signs before the county ordered him in March to remove them or pay $25 to get a permit to post them.

"The thing with the ordinance," says John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, which is representing Moultrie, "is it allows for political signs, which means that in this particular case it would be what you call viewpoint discrimination, which the Supreme Court and a number of federal courts have ruled on.

"Once you allow a form of speech you have to be content-neutral as to what speeches you permit," Whitehead told FoxNews.com. "Here they haven't been content-neutral, and I think it's a good constitutional case.”

"That has broad implications," he said. "Under the First Amendment, citizens are not required to obtain government permission before exercising their right of free expression on their own property."

"This law's even worse, though, because it isn't a blanket law that applies to all signs," Francisco said, adding that even displays other than signs potentially could be targeted. "I guess, if you've got your car parked in your driveway and you have a statue of the Virgin Mary on your dashboard, they could go after that too."

Now I thought that you didn’t have to pay a 25$ fee for your rights. Of course, that is only for some things you say (It’s ok if it’s a political sign, but God help you if it’s religious.).

(ORIGINAL LINK) South Carolina Man Fights to Keep Religious Signs on His Property - FoxNews.com