City Orders ‘God Bless America’ Lawn Signs Taken Down, Warns Against Over-Interpretation
Bartow, FL – City officials are cracking down on a recent wave of “God Bless America” lawn signs, but some are saying that takedown requests violate their freedom of religious expression.
According to WTVT-TV, about 300 of the signs, which feature the words “God Bless America” along with a Christian cross and the American flag, were first handed out at First Baptist Church after a July 4th event. Many have left the signs up, causing the city to intervene.
Residents with the signs posted have three days to uproot or else pay a minimum fine of $25 a day.
This notice, coming in at the intersection of private property and first amendment rights, has naturally caused some controversy.
“Being a veteran, I felt like I was just kicked in the gut. I couldn’t believe it, that I couldn’t display my love for my nation by putting a sign up that says “God Bless America,” Bartow resident Marcus Seger said Thursday.
But there’s more to the story than that, according to local officials. The signs could profess loyalty to the Flying Spaghetti Monster as much as to God and Country… they still violate an ordinance that has been in place with generous exceptions for 13 years.
“They can have those signs out on holidays that are relevant. You can have a temporary sign around Christmas if it’s related to Christmas. Or the 4th of July. The sign ordinance has exceptions for that,” said Bartow Code Enforcement Director Gregg Lamb.
Additionally, Lamb told The Blaze that the $25-per-day fines were never threatened and that his office doesn’t even have the legal right to enforce them anyway. He said that the media has over-focused on the anti-religious message, noting that even “for sale” signs are subject to the ordinance.
“We were just hoping for some cooperation and understanding about the ordinance,” Lamb said.
Still, residents hoping to be constructive are probably better off fighting the ordinance at their next town hall meeting than merely defying it for the wrong reasons. It’s true that many seem confused and offended by the rule.
“I personally feel if it were on a city right-of-way, they would have a right to remove it. But this is my yard that I’m paying the taxes on. It’s my right,” said local Emmett Purvis.
