It’s not too much to ask that American business people — like all other citizens — should be allowed the rights of a free people. Unfortunately, not every local official understands or respects those rights.
Consider the illegitimate and unconstitutional restrictions that Arlington, Virginia wants to place on Kim Houghton’s liberty. The Institute for Justice tells of her situation. First a brief video on the case, then an accompanying description from the IJ:
No one should have to choose between their right to speak and their right to earn an honest living. And the First Amendment does not let government officials play art critic.
Kim Houghton is the owner of Wag More Dogs, a canine boarding and grooming facility in Arlington, Va. Long a fan of the dog park that is located right behind her business, Kim commissioned an outdoor mural of cartoon dogs, bones and paw prints in order to give something back to the community.
But a few months later, Arlington officials blocked Kim’s building permit and told her that she could not open unless she painted over the mural or covered it with a blue tarp. Her crime was painting a piece of art that – in the eyes of Arlington officials – was “too related” to her business. In the eyes of the county regulator, a mural that depicted dragons would be perfectly fine. But because it shows dogs and bones, it’s illegal. Under the threat of losing her livelihood, Kim complied and covered the mural.
But now she is waging a fight to vindicate not only her own right to free expression, but also the rights of other small businesses who must continually face seemingly all-powerful government regulators who arbitrarily and abusively wield the authority.
Arlington County’s zoning ordinance unconstitutionally burdens certain speech based on its message. And the complete vagueness of the ordinance gives government officials unbridled discretion to decide what is art and what is a sign. That is why Kim has teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal First Amendment challenge to Arlington’s zoning ordinance in court.
Kim’s lawsuit, filed on December 2, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, will vindicate her right to earn an honest living free from the unconstitutional conditions that Arlington is trying to impose. And it will strengthen and expand on a very simple and important legal principle: Under the First Amendment, the right to speak is just that – a right – and not a privilege to be doled out by government officials.
And so it is: a right, and not a privilege granted by officials.
A litigation backgrounder on the case, Wag More Dogs, LLC v. Artman, is available online.