Nothing Sacred From The Grubby Hands Of Meddling Government
Jonathan Turley blogs that a Methodist church in Fairfax County, Virginia has been told it may have to remove its electronic sign after violating county rules that prohibit signs from being changed more than twice a day (unless they are giving weather reports). Seems to be a blatant violation of free speech.
Turley writes:
It may be a sign of our times that there is nothing sacred. Today a burning talking bush would result in a fire code citation and lawsuit for failing to have a sign interpreter for the hearing impaired.Before addressing the free exercise issue, I am not sure what surprises me more: that the county has a law regulating how many messages can appear on electronic signs or that it has someone who actually monitors the messages on electronic signs. Given the host of underfunded school and county programs, I think we have isolated a position that can be freed up for more productive use.
In this case, the Vienna United Methodist church posted three messages on one day. One offered people refuge from the heat. The church then posted a reference to its web sites. Then came the final and fatal message . . . wait for it . . . the church listed the time of a group prayer meeting. That final message shocked a Fairfax zoning inspector who dashed off a warning to the church "It is noted that the screens changed more than twice in a twenty-four (24) hour period. This changeable copy LED sign is considered a prohibited sign." So now the county wants a permanent limit of just two messages a day on the sign or for the sign to be taken down.
Notably, the messages on that day followed a severe storm that knocked out the electricity of the whole whole, leaving many in distress. Here are the three specific messages:
"Welcome, come on in and beat the heat""Visit us at goodshepherdva.com."
"Practicing the Presence, Thurs., July 5, 1 pm."
Now the church is suing as a matter of both free speech and free exercise.
Unintentionally funny church signs here.
Is government so challenged for real work to do that they need to make work, or is it just that real work is a lot less fun then going all tiny, power-mad bureaucrat on a church?
In case you wonder why I hate, loath, and despise bitybrained bureaurats, this is a classic example.
BarSinister at August 31, 2012 6:36 AM
There are many anti religious politicians in Northern Virginia. if it had been anything besides a Church, it would have gotten a free pass.
Joe J at August 31, 2012 8:09 AM
Consult your doctor.
Crid [Cridcomment at Gmail] at August 31, 2012 8:23 AM
What an odd law. I wonder what prompted it?
NicoleK at August 31, 2012 9:57 AM
NicoleK... $5 says a gasoline price war... have you ever seen one? I saw 2 stations change their prices hourly, once. and that was with manual signs...
OTOH, those LED signs are sometimes ugly, and maybe the locals hate that...
SwissArmyD at August 31, 2012 10:14 AM
You don't understand. This is Fairfax County. Not only that, it's the city of Vienna within Fairfax County. The people in that area excel at hitting each other over the head with laws, rules, and regulations. It's like living inside one giant condo association inhabited primarily by lawyers.
I know this because I used to live in a neighborhood off this road and my parents still do. While visiting this summer, we noticed the sign going up and poked some fun at a church that would spend money ($37K according to the article) on an electronic sign and probably budgeted it as "evangelism." Almost as good as stocking a food pantry! Our impression was that they are trying to compete with a couple of rapidly growing churches a couple of miles up the road (neither of which have flashy signs).
Some additional context: this is a designated historic road, which adds layers of rules about what can/can't be done. In addition, it is not a business district. This is a two-lane road through what passes for a wooded rural area in Northern Virginia. It is also near an intersection that is creeping up on dangerous because of poor sightlines, dense traffic, and large numbers of your average reckless driver in the area. This sign *does* stick out like a very sore thumb and there's probably a legitimate conversation to be had about adding another distraction to the road.
This strikes me as one of those situations where a closed-circle of people come up with an idea that they think is so great that they fail to consider the perspective of others.
Sass at August 31, 2012 10:47 AM
If its not a business district they shouldnt have let churches in the area
lujlp at August 31, 2012 11:29 AM
How is it I *live* in Fairfax County and haven't heard about this until reading it here... oh wait - our local news is all about "inside the beltway."
Shannon M. Howell at August 31, 2012 1:48 PM
We have similar laws to prevent distractions except that ours limits those that change every 20 seconds are so.
Jen at August 31, 2012 1:49 PM
Fine by me. Slap 'em down. BTW, if they want a sign so they can advertise like they're a business, then let them pay business taxes.
Today's Big Pile O' Religious Crazy:
A priest suggests that children could be seducing priests and other older men. He references everyone's favorite Sandusky, or as Father McCreepy refers to him, that "poor guy":
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/?hpt=hp_t3
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at August 31, 2012 4:00 PM
" This is Fairfax County. Not only that, it's the city of Vienna within Fairfax County. The people in that area excel at hitting each other over the head with laws, rules, and regulations. It's like living inside one giant condo association inhabited primarily by lawyers"
Sass, probably the truest description of life in Fairfax.
PS The condo or homeowners associations here are often mostly lawyers, ugh.
Joe J at September 1, 2012 9:46 AM
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