Potomac News Online | Sign posting bill delayed
Thanks to Chris Casey for the link to this update on the effort to give basic First Amendment rights (posting political campaign signs) to HOA residents in Virginia. He notes in an email that the opposition has slowed things down for a week by seeking amendments. As I noted earlier, the local CAI chapter is opposing the bill because they think campaign signs are ugly. Chris promises more detail later on his blog at www.freemontclair.us.

When the 2004 presidential race began heating up, Chris Casey, a Web site designer for Democratic candidates, felt the urge to plant a political sign in his yard. Casey knew 14 years ago that when he bought his house in Montclair, he signed property owner covenants prohibiting him from posting most signs in his yard. But Casey posted his John Kerry for president sign and in short order received a letter in the mail. It was a notice from the Montclair Property Owner Association that Casey had violated his covenants and faced a fine if he didn't comply...A bill sponsored by Sen. Linda T. "Toddy" Puller, D-36th, was scheduled to be heard but was rescheduled when both sides, including a representative from the American Civil Liberties Union, could not agree on an amendment...Puller's bill suggests that no property owner association prevent a resident from posting political signs, an argument similarly addressed by a Supreme Court ruling in 1994. In the case of City of Ladue v. Gilleo, the court ruled that a government could not prohibit signs being posted on private property based on their content. Casey used this case in arguing for his right to free speech in Montclair.