CHINO HILLS, Calif. — Supporters of Proposition 8 in Chino Hills have been facing antagonism from two sources: vandals and city hall.
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A vandalized car belonging to a
Chino Hills family that supports Proposition 8. |
City officials threatened to fine a church for distributing “Yes on 8” signs and residents who place the signs in their yards. The city backed down after Alliance Defense Fund attorneys sent a letter to the mayor. Meanwhile, Chino Hills police are still investigating vandalism to two cars belonging to a family supporting the proposition.
“Supporters of Proposition 8 should not be punished for their position on the marriage amendment,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “They are Americans, and they not only have a right to vote on and promote Prop. 8; they also have a right to be free of fear, intimidation, and the destruction of their property.”
A city ordinance prohibits placing political signs on private property unless the property owner gets a permit and pays a $250 deposit. Under the ordinance, the city threatened homeowners with fines of $25 a day if they did not remove their pro-Proposition 8 signs. The city also threatened Calvary Chapel Chino Hills with a $250 fine if they did not stop distributing the signs.
ADF attorneys sent a letter to Mayor Curt Hagman Oct. 15 regarding the unconstitutionality of the ordinance (
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/ChinoHillsLetter.pdf). The city attorney responded Friday with assurances that the sign law would not be enforced against the homeowners or the church (
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/ChinoHillsResponse.pdf).
A few days after a “Yes on 8” sign was stolen from the yard of a family attending the church, vandals damaged two of the family’s cars. The vandals keyed messages including “GAY SEX IS LOVE” and “SEX” into the paint of one car and wrote other graphic messages in permanent marker all over both vehicles. They also bent the rear windshield wiper of one car and broke off the antenna of the other.
Despite the concerns of other family members about putting themselves at further risk, the family has replaced the stolen yard sign and has covered up some of the graffiti on one of the cars with “Yes on 8” bumper stickers.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org www.domawatch.org