Municipalities cannot regulate political content of signs

In the 2015 case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 135 S.Ct. 2218 (2015), the Court struck down a local ordinance that banned “ideological signs” that “communicat[e] a message or ideas.” The ordinance also limited “political signs” to election season and limited the times when plaintiff church was allowed to post “directional signs” bearing the name of the church and the time and location of the next service. The Court noted that content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional and could only be justified if they serve a compelling government interest, a showing that could not be made by the town. Further, the town had ample alternative ways to regulate the placement and size of signs to satisfy public safety and aesthetic concerns.

See also: Free Speech, Zoning