Political signs on state-owned property at Beetlebung Corner have caused Chilmark officials to consider creating a bylaw that deals with signage on town-owned land.
According to Chilmark board of selectmen chair Bill Rossi, several weeks ago,the town was made aware of potential First Amendment issues regarding political signs on public property in Chilmark.
“We were asked if these individuals who put the signs up there and were conducting protests had the right to keep the signs there,” Rossi said. “We are trying to be very careful with this, so first we had to determine whether the property in question was state property or town property.”
Town counsel Ron Rappaport said he looked into historical road layouts of the four-road intersection where South Road, State Road, Middle Road, and the Menemsha Crossroads meet.
“It appears that almost the entirety of that triangle at Beetlebung Corner is within the State Road layout,” Rappaport said. He said he contacted a state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) representative, who told him that signage is technically not allowed within the state layout, but no action would be taken unless the signs create a nuisance, or deal with hate speech.
Rappaport said if Chilmark Police Chief Jonathan Klaren deemed the signs to be a hazard to the traveling public, he could request that the state have the signs taken down.
Rossi suggested a policy regarding political signs on town property, which he said to his mind doesn’t exist. “The signed bylaw in our town laws is really only referencing commercial signage. Do we want to get a committee formed as to how to handle these political signs?” Rossi asked.
Selectman Jim Malkin said that without regard to what political stance someone takes with their sign, with any bylaw or town ordinance, “we either allow all signs, or no signs.”
To the point of hate speech, Malkin said the sign that is currently at Beetlebung Corner that reads “Black Lives Matter” and advocates for defunding the police could be construed by some as a hate message.
“There are some who may feel it is, there are some who may feel it isn’t,” Malkin said. “I don’t want to make Solomon’s decision one way or another, and try to cut the baby in half. I would be interested in what people in town think. I am personally happier with no signs.”
Selectman Warren Doty said if the town were to have a policy regarding political signage, they could include in that policy a condition that disallows signs except for the 48 hours before an election.
Malkin suggested also including a provision that allows signs dealing with public service announcements for town business, such as signs advocating for mask wearing and mail-in voting. Speaking personally, Malkin said the Chilmark community has been supportive of the demonstrations and vigils at Beetlebung Corner, and said he doesn’t see any issue with alerting people to town and community events.
“I do feel like the four large sandwich boards really are making a message about Black Lives Matter on state property, rather than simply informing the community of these [demonstrations],” Malkin said. “I find the ‘defund the police’ small sign to be personally offensive. I recognize it is a national issue, but in our town, I am very proud of the police, I am very proud of our chief. Our policemen have been at these vigils, participating.”
Dana Nunes, who helps organize the vigils at Beetlebung, said that, to her knowledge, there is no such “defund the police” sign, and she is out on that corner every day.
She said she spoke with Klaren and both of them checked the location for the sign after a complaint was raised, but it wasn’t there.
“None of those four large signs say anything about defunding the police. Let’s get the facts straight,” Nunes said. “I am very frustrated by these false statements. Maybe there was a sign, but someone would have had to be taking it down and putting it up for me not to see it.”
Nunes stressed that these vigils at Beetlebung are meant to remember people of color whose lives were taken by law enforcement, not serve as protests or rallies.
“I won’t get into the fact that there are people in town who feel that the color of my skin alone, is a protest,” Nunes wrote in an email to The Times. “We call it a vigil; we’re there to remember people of color whose lives have been taken by law enforcement. We honor those who have died. Plain and simple.”
Nunes gave a shout out to Klaren, who she said has helped the vigil organizers every day and participated in them regularly.
Malkin said the town could be going down a “very slippery slope” if they attempt to regulate what kind of speech is allowed on the signs. “The First Amendment says all signs would be OK. If someone puts up a ‘Make America Great Again’ sign, that is also their right. Or an anti- or pro-abortion sign. We get going down a very slippery slope very quickly,” Malkin said.
With the heated political season ramping up, Rappaport said he is concerned that any efforts to regulate signage could be seen as an infringement on people’s First Amendment rights. “I am just wondering if you wouldn’t be better off dealing with it after the elections, in a less charged atmosphere. Anything you do is going to be seen in the political climate of the moment,” he said.
He said the town cannot get involved with picking and choosing among political points of view, and noted the immense legal difficulties with determining what qualifies as hate speech.
Rappaport said he was told by MassDOT if signs are placed in such a way as to “impede the operations of the traveling public” or be a safety concern, the state could remove them at the town’s request.
Rappaport confirmed with Klaren that as of now, the signs are nowhere near being determined a hazard.
“I have no concerns with signs at Beetlebung or anywhere else in town,” Klaren said. Rappaport said if the signs were creating a safety or traffic issue, every sign would most likely need to be removed.
Chilmark officials decided to wait until the April town meeting to submit a policy, and hear from members of the public on the town meeting floor. In the interim, Chilmark will look into whether other towns have bylaws that would appropriately address the situation.