LOL - DNC Winning Hearts & Minds in Boston

[NousDefionsDoc]

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash5.htm

BATTLE OVER PRO-BUSH SIGN AT BOSTON PIZZERIA
Fri Jul 23 2004 11:19:45 ET

The 24-foot-long sign at Halftime Pizza across the street from Boston's FleetCenter isn't exactly welcoming to the Democratic National Convention: "Say!!!!! D.N.C. Thanks for Nothing!!! Go Bush."

Security measures and the availability of free food for delegates led Mark Pasquale, owner of Halftime, to shut his restaurant down for the week of the convention and erect the sign.

MORE

On Friday, WRKO-AM's Peter Blute and Scott Allen Miller reported how Pasquale has been confronted by city inspectors who have threatened to fine him unless he takes the anti-Dem sign down!

Pasquale told Blute and Scotto that while he doesn't want any trouble, he will continue to exercise his First Amendment rights by keeping the sign up in spite of any fines.

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040721/capt.macs10107211505.democratic_convention_boom_or _bust_macs101.jpg

[Martin]

What legally justifies a fine in his case?

Martin sends

[NousDefionsDoc]

Probably nothing, but they'll dig up some arcane city ordinance about sign measurements or something like they did with the flags in Florida.

[Airbornelawyer]

As there are in New York City, there are no doubt various arcane Boston city ordinances dealing with signs. But there is also plenty of First Amendment case law on pretextual use of such laws, or zoning laws or the like, to target specific political views.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Funny thing is, he was probably apolitical until they cut into his profits. Like the man once said, "You can't buy this kind of publicity." LOL

[DunbarFC]

And the fun begins !

There are a lot of bars and restaurants in that area that are closing down due to the DNC

The list of offices closed next week is truly staggering

I see a bad week ahead

[NousDefionsDoc]

Man Dunbar,
You GOT to go buy a slice from that guy.

[DunbarFC]

Actually it is good stuff

Like late night had a few good

But once the freak show leaves you bet I'll go in there

If they have t-shirts I'll send you one :)

[Airbornelawyer]

Imposing special restrictions on political signs is generally a no-no in Massachusetts. The First Amendment to the US Constitution and Article 16 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights both protect political speech.

Content-based restrictions on political speech generally don't survive constitutional scrutiny. However, content-neutral regulations are permissible. The Massachusetts Attorney General's office has issued a number of opinions on local ordinances regulating political signs. In these, it has stated that it is "well settled that protected speech may be subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restraints as long as legitimate governmental interests exist and are cited as the basis of restraint."

Mass. General Laws Chapter 93, Section 29 , provides, in part, that an Outdoor Advertising Board "may make, amend or repeal rules and regulations for the proper control and restriction of billboards, signs and other advertising devices, except as provided in section 32, on public ways or on private property within public view of any highway, public park or reservation. Such rules and regulations may require that said billboards, signs or other devices be located in business, commercial, industrial, marketing or mercantile areas, or on unrestricted commercial arteries and adjacent to commercial enterprises; may prescribe standards of size, setback and clearance, considering the public interest; may require said billboards, signs or other devices to be licensed by the board by the issuance of permits in accordance therewith and with this section; and may prescribe permit fees, to be fixed with regard to the cost of administering this section, and said fees need not be uniform throughout the commonwealth."

So, if there are pre-existing Boston ordinances stating that, for instance, any hanging banner on a place of business be no larger than X feet by X feet, be secured in Y manner, and be purple with orange letters, but don't say "signs for political candidates must be X feet by Z feet," they would (if reasonable) be constitutional. Even the requirement of a permit and a fee would be constitutional, though there are lots of cases around the country on these where courts found particular permit schemes and fees unreasonable because of how they were applied. If Halftime Pizza violated any of these ordinances, it likely will have to pay a fine. But all they would have to do is change the sign to one that complied.

If they go after him, but not people with pro-Democrat or pro-Kerry signs, then he has a better case for pretextual discrimination.

[Pandora]

Let's look at a factual world economics scenario here...

Suppose you are an international company with one of your mission critical development/support offices in Boston. And suppose your employees cannot get to work due to road closures for the convention. Suppose those employees will not get compensated for the lost hours and the customers will not have their support contracts fulfilled during this time frame? Suppose you take a gander at the balance sheet and PL the month after the "convention that closed a city down," and you see a huge drop in support/consulting revenue for the month?

Kerry is going to have a tough time selling "robust economy" points to Bostonians this week. And the international market is listening, also.

[Martin]

Pandora: Won't Bush have the same problem, albeit in an other city? (I don't know where they have their convention)

Airbornelawyer: Thanks for clearing it up!
I'm always wondering when you write those kinds of answers if you're reading through the regulations as we speak, or just have a really good memory. :)
Cool avatar, btw.

Anyway, I'd love to see that sign on CNN.

Martin sends

[Pandora]

Pandora: Won't Bush have the same problem, albeit in an other city? (I don't know where they have their convention)

Good point, Martin. I guess I just haven't heard the same type of complaining from other offices when Bush is in their city as I am hearing now from my Boston crew. Having said that, I guess it is apples & oranges - a Presidential visit vs. a convention is a different comparison. Noted.

[brownapple]

Originally posted by Martin
Pandora: Won't Bush have the same problem, albeit in an other city? (I don't know where they have their convention)


Republican Convention is in NYC, I believe. I lived near Penn Station when the Democratic Convention met in New York... didn't close much, and the economy did quite well off it as I remember.

[DunbarFC]

Here's the sign

[Solid]

Hahaha that's awesome!