Chambana Sun

The Danville City Council discussed the legality of vulgar signs in the city during a Feb. 21 meeting.

Alderman Robert Williams mentioned an offensive sign he had seen near his neighborhood, claiming that it had inappropriate language expressing negative political opinions about President Joe Biden. Williams then asked the council if anything could be done about it due to both the vulgar words and the presence of young children in the area.

Danville Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr., stated that he hadn't seen the specific sign that Williams mentioned but had seen similar ones around the city. Alderman Rick Strebing spoke on the issue of freedom of speech regarding signs on private property. The council can control the messaging of signs put up on public property, unless the property in question is a public forum like Temple Plaza, and they can restrict or remove any signs put up in such areas without the need for approval.

However, the sign that Williams mentioned appeared to be on private property, and unless it depicts explicit pornography or defamation, it cannot be removed by the council. Strebing explained that the vulgar language on the sign would likely be insufficient to qualify for defamation, as there has to be proven malice on the part of the sign's owner.

"I've seen those signs and I don't like them either, but what is one person's vulgarity is another person's political speech," Strebing said.

The council then discussed a recent incident similar to the one being discussed, where they contacted a property owner who, in turn, asked their tenant to remove an offensive flag, which they did. They decided to review the current issue further to see if a possible solution could be found.

Danville has had many issues with offensive signs in recent times, such as in the summer of 2022, when a group of protestors displayed "White Lives Matter" signs while wearing masks and claiming that they were protected by freedom of speech.