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| May 11, 2006 We hear the jackbooted thugs are messing with yard signs in Alpine. Cuidado. "A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court rejected such foolishness in City of Ladue v. Gilleo, writing that residential yard signs were 'a venerable means of communication that is both unique and important.' The Court (Justice John Paul Stevens) explained: 'Displaying a sign from one's own residence often carries a message quite distinct from placing the sign someplace else, or conveying the same text or picture by other means. ... Residential signs are an unusually cheap and convenient form of communication. Especially for persons of modest means or limited mobility, a yard sign or window sign may have no practical substitute. ... Even for the affluent, the added costs in money or time of taking out a newspaper advertisement, handing our leaflets on the street, or standing in front of one's house with a handheld sign may make the difference between participa- ting and not participating in some public debate.'" — David L. Hudson Jr. First Amendment Center research attorney www.firstamendmentcenter.org/ |