Message on ‘Uncle Sam’ billboard considered protected free speech
Aug 17, 2017, 11:43 AM | Updated: Aug 18, 2017, 2:39 pm
(Contributed/Natasha)
(Contributed/Natasha)
This story has been updated to include a statement from WSDOT
A two-sided billboard in Chehalis that became notorious for the arch-conservative views posted on it continues to stir up passersby decades later.
The latest message reads:
Freedom is dangerous!
Slavery is peaceful!
The billboard sits on private property along I-5 near Exit 72. The late Alfred Hamilton began posting his views in giant letters after the state cut through his turkey farm in the 1960s.
Hamilton died in 2004. The Chehalis Journal described Hamilton’s views after he died.
“Mr. Hamilton Minced no words in attacking virtually everything and everyone that irritated him: gun control, the government and gays, Russians and radicals, Kissinger and Kerry,” the paper wrote.
But new messages have continued to appear after Hamilton’s death.
A lengthy discussion about the latest message ensued on KIRO Radio’s Facebook page, after a photo of the billboard was posted. Some commenters question whether the message should be taken literally, or if there is a deeper meaning, such as a play on Thomas Jefferson’s quote — “I prefer dangerous freedom to peaceful slavery.”
Though Hamilton’s messages have always been controversial, the latest has many wondering if the billboard should be removed.
The state has wondered the same thing. In the late 1970s, the state made an attempt to have the billboard removed. The state sued the Hamiltons, arguing that it violated the Scenic Vistas Act because it was “used to display political and religion commentary.”
However, the state failed to have the giant white billboard removed, after the state’s Court of Appeals found that it was being used for advertising activities conducted on the property, which falls in line with the law.
The Washington State Department of Transportation again looked into the matter recently, after receiving a complaint.
“When we receive a complaint about items such as this billboard, we confer with the Attorney General’s Office for guidance on whether the Scenic Vistas Act has changed,” WSDOT spokesperson Bart Treece wrote in an email. “We did so here and have been told the sign is considered protected free speech.”
