A Germantown resident sued the suburb in federal court Wednesday after she was cited by the city for her Christmas decorations.
Alexis Little was popped by the city late last year because her Christmas decorations included skeletons. A photo of the scene shows a simulated human skeleton wearing a red-and-green tutu holding a leash of garlands attached to a skeleton dog wearing a Christmas tree hat.
But the city of Germantown says the display is against city code. It even has a law against it on the books.
According to the Little lawsuit, Germantown law says that decorations ”shall not be installed or placed more than 45 days before the date of the holiday for which said decorations are intended and shall be removed within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 30 days, following the date of the holiday for which said decorations were intended. Holiday lights, even if not illuminated, are not permitted to remain on any house or structure year-round.”
But Little thinks the law is a violation of her First-Amendment right to free speech. She sued the city in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Aiding Little in the suit are lawyers from the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
“There is simply no good reason for the government to care how and when a resident celebrates a holiday in their own front yard,” said FIRE attorney Colin McDonell. “When government officials try to stop that resident from expressing their holiday spirit to others, that violates the First Amendment.”
Little’s skeletons went up in October for Halloween. Later, they held political signs for Election Day. In December, though, a Germantown code enforcement agent left a notice that the skeletons violated city law. She dressed them up for Christmas anyway.
In early January, Little got a citation from the city, reminding her the skeletons still violated city law. If she didn’t pay the ticket, she’d have to appear before a judge this month. If she was found guilty, she’d be fined, and given a court order that she could never use skeletons in her holiday displays. City officials, she was told, could even enter her property and forcibly remove the skeletons.
“You don’t have to like my decorations, but that doesn’t mean Germantown has the right to force me to take them down,” Little said in a statement. “This is America. Even our local government has to respect our rights.”
FIRE says the ordinance is unconstitutional, and that city governments can impose restrictions on displays that address safety, noise, or light pollution, but Germantown’ telling residents how and when they must celebrate a holiday’s law “is simply targeting protected expression.”
Little’s skeletons are still up as of Wednesday, dressed in a “Love Is Love” theme for Valentine’s Day. She plans to costume them for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Pride Month.
“Perhaps for President’s Day, I’ll dress the skeleton like a Founding Father and give him a copy of the Constitution,” said Little. “Maybe a visual display will make it finally sink in when they ask me to tear it down.”
