# Billboards and the First Amendment **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524 "2021-12-04T21:56:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/1 "2021-12-04T21:56:05Z")
We just got back from a drive to look at a billboard we’d heard about. It’s located along a highway that goes through a small town with a reputation. I was sure what I’d heard was exaggeration or hyperbole, but it turns out I was wrong. The billboard is like a huge tv screen and changes the display every twenty seconds or so. I’m uncomfortable even mentioning some of what was on the sign, but one was just huge letters saying **WHITE IS BEAUTIFUL**. Another showed a collage of a young white kid in a coffin and a comically murderous looking black guy. Then the sign read **BLACK MAN KILLS WHITE CHILD** then **WHERE’S THE FUCKING OUTRAGE?** Are there any limits to what can be placed on a billboard? Should there be? If this thread belongs elsewhere, please move it. On second thought I’ll move it to the pit now. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/2 "2021-12-04T21:59:17Z")
I don’t know the legalities of that sign, but I must say it prompts me as a gun fearing, law-abiding do-gooder to find a shotgun and blast the hell out of it. Disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/3 "2021-12-04T22:37:44Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I don’t know the legalities of that sign… The sign is certainly on private property, so the owner/lessor can put up almost anything he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/4 "2021-12-04T22:39:33Z")
Aren’t there still limits on hate speech? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/5 "2021-12-04T22:46:31Z")
I don’t know. Certainly the KKK and other fascist/White supremacist groups say and publish lots of offensive stuff. Maybe the hate speech needs to actually/specifically incite violence? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/6 "2021-12-04T23:07:01Z")
Who owns the billboard? Who is making money off of white supremacism? That might be interesting to find out. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/7 "2021-12-04T23:43:06Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Who is making money off of white supremacism? **TRUMP 2024**? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/8 "2021-12-04T23:44:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Aren’t there still limits on hate speech?- That was my thinking. The sign _drips_ hate. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/9 "2021-12-04T23:50:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Aren’t there still limits on hate speech? No, not unless the speech is directly inciting criminal activity. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/10 "2021-12-04T23:52:11Z")
According to Wiki: > The United States does not have hate speech laws since the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that laws criminalizing hate speech violate the guarantee to freedom of speech contained in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Hate crimes exist, but hate speech is protected. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/11 "2021-12-04T23:54:39Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Who owns the billboard? Who is making money off of white supremacism? That might be interesting to find out What are you gonna do-Shame them? Shame, like hypocrisy, doesn’t mean jack shit to them. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/12 "2021-12-05T00:30:25Z")
To who? If it’s some random business person with no ideology but making money, they could be concerned about a boycott of their other income sources if their involvement in this was revealed. That’s why I’m asking. Sometimes boycotts or their threat can work. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/13 "2021-12-05T01:55:36Z")
Billboards are mostly owned by private companies who are in the business of renting out billboard space to advertisers. So it might be interesting to find out what billboard company that is. Maybe fantasize about having a widespread boycott of that company. Those modern video billboards are just big computer monitors. I’ve occasionally seen billboards displaying that well-known advertisement “404 File Not Found” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/14 "2021-12-05T01:57:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What are you gonna do-Shame them? I’ve determined that the property the sign is on is owned by the people who own an adjacent gas station (United States Gas or similar with a red/white/blue motif). Obviously, I’ll never buy gas from them, but I’m rarely in the area. In searching to find out who owns the property, I found a newspaper article that says their sales have skyrocketed. People fucking suck. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/15 "2021-12-05T02:05:04Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I found a newspaper article that says their sales have skyrocketed. So it IS all about the money! (Wait – so that implies that, at least locally, it’s well-known who the owner is.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/16 "2021-12-05T02:05:28Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > It’s located along a highway that goes through a small town with a reputation. Ebbing, Missouri? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/17 "2021-12-05T02:05:53Z")
No, rural western Pennsylvania. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/18 "2021-12-05T02:08:47Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > (Wait – so that implies that, at least locally, it’s well-known who the owner is.) It’s a local shame/pride/whatever. The area seems to be where all the racist fucks all ended up or something. Like a sieve in the water flow at a waste treatment plant. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/19 "2021-12-05T02:11:47Z")
Be fun to hack the server and put up some _alternate_ hate messages. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524/20 "2021-12-05T02:26:20Z")
There really aren’t any legal limits in the US, as far as I know. It’s mostly down to whether the actual sign owner or billboard company will lease to the KKK. A somewhat nearby town had the same problem. The first time, eventually there was enough pressure on the sign company that they didn’t renew the lease. (The sign also got vandalized at least once.) The second time, the city itself decided to run a counter ad on the sign below the first one. That seems to have worked to discourage them—I think. I at least haven’t seen the sign again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billboards-and-the-first-amendment/955524.md?page=2)