Election sign-nabber strikes Atherton

It's time to enact new laws to stop the thieves from stealing campaign signs. The thief's goal is stifle free speech, steal and destroy property, and drive the costs of the candidate running for office up since any stolen signs will have to be replaced. The new law should make the stealing campaign signs preceding an election carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years combined with a $25,000 fine. In addition, the government should be required to identify the thieve's political affiliation and publish that information in local papers for a year thereby discouraging a party from recruiting surrogates to engage in such devious conduct.

Yes, creating a police state is the obvious choice for fostering free speech.

OH NO!!! Horrors...crime is rampant in Atherton...hurry call the police...I hear Sign theives and picking up newspapers are their specialty!!! Plus it might even give them something to do!!

This isn't a problem just for Atherton. The 1st amendment doesn't give you the right to silence someone else. That's not fostering free speech --- it's silencing it.

Protect Free Speech...those signs are an eyesore. They are also littering when they are all over telephone poles, fences and the like. Get a grip.