So the governor signed this ban into law. I call it a ban, because it is written differently from what the intent was...as is usual when the legislature wants to pass something without drawiung the ire of affected people.
The law now empowers municipalities to outlaw sign trailers that when "advertisement" in their primary purpose. In addition, the law's chief proponent in the state legislature stated that it was aimed at unhitched trailers, but then went on to omit that portion from the code itself. This will, of course, allow the municipalities to broadly interpret it and let the victim fight their way out of it in court. What I'm unsure of is whether it will fall under the parking ticket scam or not. They also criminalized it if a muni elects to do so, meaning it can carry jail time if they charge it that way. I think we can thank a real ass for inspiring this too. the guy that Dennis Zine was aiming at took this form of advertising to the maximum level of provocation by placing multiple little trailers in a row on city streets, and just abandoning them there. To add to that, this guy is another one of those "businessmen" that is hell bent on using the court system to make up for his apparent inability to please his customers. He's got numerous lawsuits, as well as internet pages chock full of warnings from unsatisfied clients.
I hate having to be lumped in with the unadmirable, but I have to oppose this unjust law. The state and the munis are now doing the bidding of the big advertising lobby. The advertisers are cornering the outdoor market, and already dominate the airwaves and cable. What was left was public property, and for anyone paying attention, they have already connived their way into exclusive contracts for the outdoor advertising on schools, city, and county owned property.
I'd like to say that we were safe in doing first amendment events with this, but I fear that it will be another one of those situations that we will be ticketed and forced to pay fines while appeals work their way up to judges appointed by the same mentalities that brought and signed these laws into practice in the first place.
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