WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court considered Jan. 12 whether an Arizona town’s sign ordinance infringes on a church’s free speech and assembly rights.
The justices heard oral arguments in an appeal by the pastor of a small Phoenix-area church of a lower-court decision in support of the law, which he contends discriminates against congregations while favoring political and ideological messages.
Clyde Reed, pastor of Good News Community Church, Phoenix, Ariz., challenged a Gilbert, Ariz., code that limits the size of directional signs — like those for church meetings — to six square feet and 12 hours for display while permitting far greater sizes and durations of exhibition for political, ideological and home owners’ association signs.
The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) asserted in a friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Christian Legal Society that Gilbert’s law is based on a sign’s content and therefore abridges the First Amendment’s free speech clause.
On the day of the arguments, ERLC President Russell Moore warned against government muting of a church’s speech.
“This case is vitally important,” he said. “[It] should mobilize supporters of religious liberty and supporters of free speech to stand together for our First Amendment freedoms.”
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