Exemption to 40-year-old billboard ban in Vt. worries some

MONTPELIER, Vt. - For 40 years, it's been the guardian of the state's pastoral landscapes, keeping interstates and back roads clear of outdoor advertising.

[Harry Heretic]

How long will it be before there is a wacko xtian fundie group putting up one of their propaganda billboards ?

[Willie]

I think that the Bellows Falls sign is kind of cool. It's not a brightly lit commercial eyesore selling us a feminine hygiene product. The sign shows the old time slower pace of life image that a tourist looking for a lunch spot would like. Leave it be.

The conditions of the bill allowing this are subject to legal mumbo-jumbo, so why not just say that exceptions will be considered case by case. Why make a big deal out of it?

[John]

Willie wrote:

I think that the Bellows Falls sign is kind of cool. It's not a brightly lit commercial eyesore selling us a feminine hygiene product. The sign shows the old time slower pace of life image that a tourist looking for a lunch spot would like. Leave it be.
The conditions of the bill allowing this are subject to legal mumbo-jumbo, so why not just say that exceptions will be considered case by case. Why make a big deal out of it?

Because the sign law was very clear. It was black and white. This exemption creates a grey area. Shrewd opponents of the billboard law, will find ways to abuse the gray area.

Once you weaken a law for one special interest group, you have to consider other special interests.

I am a political moderate, with Democratic leanings. This time the Democrats really screwed up.

[Rebecca Miller]

John wrote:

<quoted text>
Because the sign law was very clear. It was black and white. This exemption creates a grey area. Shrewd opponents of the billboard law, will find ways to abuse the gray area.
Once you weaken a law for one special interest group, you have to consider other special interests.
I am a political moderate, with Democratic leanings. This time the Democrats really screwed up.

Thanks John, your point of view really helped me understand which side of the argument I would be on. You can't make one exception if you aren't willing to consider many more. Making an exemption is invitation for anyone to try to be the next exemption and past exemptions will only help their case.