definitely a first amendment issue
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who was forced to pay an $800 fine for nailing a peace sign to her window frame in violation of zoning regulations sued New York City in U.S. federal court on Friday, claiming the law infringed upon her right to free speech.
Brigitte Vosse, who owns a condominium on Manhattan's Upper West Side, received a ticket from the city's department of buildings for the peace symbol she hung in her living room window for a year and a half.
The city's zoning laws prohibit people from placing signs more than 40 feet above curb level in Vosse's zoning district, according to the lawsuit. But exceptions are made for signs that are placed on buildings whose uses are primarily "of a civic, philanthropic, educational or religious nature."
That demonstrates that the restriction is content-based in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, the lawsuit claimed.
more at link http://news.yahoo.com/yorker-fined-hanging-peace-sign-window-sues-city-225435769.html
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who was forced to pay an $800 fine for nailing a peace sign to her window frame in violation of zoning regulations sued New York City in U.S. federal court on Friday, claiming the law infringed upon her right to free speech.
Brigitte Vosse, who owns a condominium on Manhattan's Upper West Side, received a ticket from the city's department of buildings for the peace symbol she hung in her living room window for a year and a half.
The city's zoning laws prohibit people from placing signs more than 40 feet above curb level in Vosse's zoning district, according to the lawsuit. But exceptions are made for signs that are placed on buildings whose uses are primarily "of a civic, philanthropic, educational or religious nature."
That demonstrates that the restriction is content-based in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, the lawsuit claimed.
more at link http://news.yahoo.com/yorker-fined-hanging-peace-sign-window-sues-city-225435769.html
