Justices appear to favor Arizona church over sign law!

WASHINGTON (PNN) - January 12, 2015 - The Supreme Court appears likely to side with a small church in its fight with the town of Gilbert over limits on roadside signs directing people to Sunday services.

Both liberal and conservative justices expressed misgivings Monday with the Gilbert, Arizona sign ordinance because it places more restrictions on churches' temporary signs than those erected by political candidates, real estate agents and others.

The Good News Community Church sued over limits that Gilbert places on so-called directional signs, like the ones the church places around town to point people to its services in local schools and retirement communities.

Gilbert allows so-called directional signs, like the ones put up by the church inviting people to Sunday worship, to be no larger than 6 square feet. They must be placed in public areas no more than 12 hours before an event and removed within an hour of its end. Signs for political candidates, by contrast, can be up to 32 square feet and can remain in place for several months.

Lower federal courts upheld the town's sign ordinance because the distinction it draws between different kinds of temporary signs is not based on what a sign says.

The church is joined by religious groups and the illegitimate Obama regime in urging the Supreme Court to strike down the ordinance.

The church, which serves roughly 30 adults and up to 10 children, argues that the regulation's significant difference in the size of the signs and how long they can be displayed is essentially regulation based on content, which the Supreme Court only rarely allows in First Amendment cases.

"Simply put, to prevail in this case, Gilbert must explain why a 32-square-foot sign displayed in the right of way virtually all year long is not a threat to safety and aesthetics if it bears a political message, but it is such a threat if it invites people to Good News' church services," the church said in court papers.

The National League of Cities and other associations of local officials are backing the town and warning that a ruling in favor of the church would make it "nearly impossible" for cities and towns to craft sign regulations that deal with a community's appearance and safety.

A decision is expected by June in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 13-502.