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Just a few feet away outside Sullivans Inc., a motorcycle accessories
distributor at 121 Franklin St., is another large sign showing the
president. It says: “Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot.
Obama One Big Ass Mistake America, Vote Mitt Romney for 2012!” Two
images of the hammer and sickle, which are symbolic of communism, are
shown on Obama’s shirt collar.
Are the signs over the top?
Some passers-by said the campaign signs go too far and are offensive,
while others said it’s a matter of free speech. Either way, the signs
have drawn a lot of attention on Franklin Street in this small town of
about 10,000 and they violate town bylaws, said Hanson officials.
Robert Sullivan, the business owner, did not get a necessary permit to
put up the signs, said Hanson building commissioner and zoning
enforcement officer Robert P. Curran. “It is a sign that ... is in
violation of general bylaws,” Curran said Wednesday. “It also doesn’t
meet any of the zoning bylaw criteria for the signs to exist as they
are.”
Curran informed Sullivan of the violations in a letter from the town
dated Aug. 2, town records show. When The Enterprise visited the
business Wednesday, Sullivan sent down an employee who said he would not
comment. Sullivan’s attorney, Roger S. Davis of Quincy, cited free
speech when asked about the signs Wednesday. “First amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. It’s called freedom of speech,” Davis said.
When asked to comment about the signs violating town bylaws, Davis said
the matter “has already been resolved” with Town Administrator Rene
Read.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss it. That’s my understanding,” Davis said.
In a letter to Curran dated Aug. 8, Davis questioned why the signs violate town bylaws.
“The signs in question are political signs and therefore, they do not
appear to meet the definition of a sign described in the billboard
article,” Davis wrote.
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