Ticketing Toys for Tots: Column

Justin Pearson | USATODAY

The holiday season is upon us, and Deltona, Fla., business owner Corey Marion has been extremely naughty. What has she done to incur the wrath—and fines—of Deltona's code enforcement office? She posted a sign to let people know that her business was a Toys for Tots drop-off site.

Seriously. Is this what local government has become . . . a collection of code enforcement sticklers who have nothing better to do than to stop someone from being a Good Samaritan?

It is doubtful that Deltona's bureaucrats hate kids. Or charity. Or even charity for kids. But what these Grinches surely cannot stand is somebody questioning their authority by failing to correctly follow their labyrinth of rules.

In this case, Corey actually tried to follow Deltona's ridiculous regulations. When a code enforcement officer said the sign was too close to the road, Corey moved it nearer to her business, Happy Tails pet grooming.

But it didn't matter. Deltona fined her anyway and ordered her to remove the sign altogether, although she refused. The city also prevented another Toys for Tots drop-off site, Critter's Pub, from posting the sign at all. Unfortunately for the Good Samaritans and the needy children they were trying to help, the Toys for Tots signs appear to fall within the definition of a type of temporary sign banned by Deltona.

Becoming a business owner does not waive your right to free speech, and neither does helping a charity. Moreover, Deltona's sign code is seriously flawed. It includes a hodgepodge of exemptions and restrictions, and it appears that Deltona's code enforcement does not even understand them, as one of the exemptions is for nonprofit organization banners like Corey's Toys for Tots sign.

Not surprisingly, Deltona's municipal code also grants "public agencies" an exemption from the same restriction that Corey allegedly violated. Perhaps if Deltona's government were forced to follow its own rules, it would gain more respect for the rights of its citizens. In fact, these types of content-based distinctions are often ruled unconstitutional by judges.

What the residents of Deltona are now enduring has become an all-too-common practice by overly zealous local governments who evidently have too much time on their hands. In Sacramento, Calif., small business owners Carl and Elizabeth Fears were told to take down the small but effective A-frame sign outside of their fitness center until the couple fought back and won. In Dallas, the government arbitrarily bans businesses from posting signs in the top two-thirds of their window and demands that 85 percent of a window be free from ads. And in Norfolk, Va., a property owner waged a successful battle to save his property from eminent domain abuse thanks in part to a protest banner—a banner that the city forced him to cover up partway through that battle at the behest of the people trying to take his property.

If code enforcement officers in Deltona, however, don't care about a charity that gives toys to underprivileged children, then it should not be surprising that they don't care about the Constitution either.

Understandably, Corey and her fiancé, Jody Storozuk, are appalled at these antics. Jody remembers serving his country in the Army, where he often helped the local children. "I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan," he explains. "I helped kids when I was there. Now to get a fine for helping kids in my country is outrageous. It's actually disgusting."

Indeed it is. This is the true cost of government run amok, and it's enough to make anyone say, "Bah! Humbug!"

Justin Pearson is the executive director of the Institute for Justice Florida Chapter..

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the opinion front page or follow us on twitter @USATopinion or Facebook.