Friday, February 6, 2015

From The Coastal Star: City of Gulf Stream revising sign law

Dan Moffett writes this article titled, "Gulf Stream: Town revises sign law amid claims it quashes civil liberties". Two interesting excerpts from the article:
     Town commissioners gave unanimous final approval to a revised signage law at a Jan. 26 special meeting and — with only Chris O’Hare and Marty O’Boyle, the town’s litigious critics, on hand to offer opinions — immediately faced authoritarian comparisons.
     O’Hare likened the law to suppression of free speech worthy of the world’s worst totalitarian states. “In North Korea, anyone speaking ill of Kim Jong Un will be arrested and never heard from again,” he said. “In Cuba, anyone speaking badly of Fidel Castro or his revolution will be arrested and serve jail time.”
[and...]
   “Your comments are palpably absurd,” Morgan [Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan] told O’Boyle and O’Hare. “Comments comparing this town to despotic regimes are insulting and absurd. Your comments are designed to take what is a good-faith effort by this town to pass a reasonable ordinance — and as always apply the ordinance fairly — but your attempts are to position as such so you can advance legal action against it, again costing us time, resources and money.”
     In October, the commission voted to pursue a RICO case against the two men, alleging abuses of public records requests and frivolous lawsuits.