Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

January 14, 2009

Two years ago, Herb Quintero opened a bait and tackle shop in Clearwater, Florida. He spent a half-million dollars for renovations to the property, which included hiring an artist to paint a mural depicting a fish on the side of the building.

Ever ready to make life needlessly difficult for honest business owners, the local code enforcement department began issuing citations to Quintero, claiming the mural was an impermissible advertisement instead of a work of art, as the shop owner insisted.

After extracting nearly $700 from Quintero, the code department threatened to impose daily fines of $130 if he didn?t cover it up. In a genuinely inspired gesture, Quintero covered the mural with a large banner containing the text of the First Amendment.

The municipal government, acting with predictable malice, is looking for some way to punish the admirably defiant business owner for an unauthorized display of that properly revered text.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.