Editorial: Sign theft stifles free speech

Speech isn’t always about using your voice. Maybe it’s a book. Maybe it’s a quote in a magazine article. It could be a T-shirt or a hat or a tattoo.

But as the election approaches, one form of speech will pop up more and more: the yard sign.

They may be just small rectangles of cardboard stapled to wood or laminated plastic with a wire frame, but they also can be some of the loudest voices in an election. While someone might have to sign on to social media to hear what a friend or family member is sharing online, just drive down the road or walk around the corner and you can see who your neighbors are supporting in the election.

And that can cause problems.

In a simple mayoral race or a school board contest, signs can be knocked down or snatched. The bigger the office, the higher the stakes. That can mean the attacks escalate. It gets no bigger than the presidential election, and as Trump and Biden signs spring up, they are also at risk of becoming targets.

Pennsylvania State Police Troop A has seen an uptick in such thefts, and thefts is what they are. Taking a sign from someone’s lawn or off their porch is a crime. Specifically, it’s a theft by unlawful taking — a third-grade misdemeanor if the property is less than $50 in value, although bigger and more vocal signs might push that threshold.

The Washington Post recently looked at yard sign thefts in Pennsylvania. Some political supporters are fighting back by choosing more inaccessible placement for their placards, putting them in windows or on roofs or staking them firmly in a patch of poison ivy. Others are coating signs with things like honey or glitter to make them less attractive to mischief makers.

It might seem like harmless hijinks, but aside from the low-level criminal activity, it’s something else, too.

It’s a way to muzzle people who don’t believe the same things, and that’s an awful thing to happen to our political process.

Everything that people hold dear about America is built on the idea of an ability to speak one’s mind. It is the first tenet of the First Amendment. No matter how much we disagree, everyone gets their say. President Trump and and former Vice President Joe Biden do so every day in their speeches and public appearances.

The people should get the same respect.

And respect is what is lacking in trying to silence someone else’s support. The Bill of Rights doesn’t limit free speech to the people voting for a certain candidate or supporting a specific agenda. It doesn’t accord that right to those with a popular opinion or those who are in the majority.

When someone steals or vandalizes a political sign, it isn’t cardboard and wire that is stolen. It is speech and thought. And we should all find that offensive.