South Carolina City Tells Man He Needs a Permit to Carry Sign that Says 'Trust Christ'

A South Carolina man is challenging his city officials after being told he needed a permit to hold a sign that said "Trust Christ" and share his faith while on a public sidewalk. 

First Liberty Institute, a non-profit legal group, sent a letter to the Town of Chapin, South Carolina on behalf of Ernest Giardino calling their requirement for a permit a violation of a local resident's First Amendment rights.

"Permit schemes, like the one found in Chapin, have the effect of freezing speech before it is uttered," reads the letter. "Permit schemes are thus viewed skeptically, being 'the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.'"

Early this summer, Giardino was on a public sidewalk at an intersection holding a 20x24 inch sign attached to a short handle, which read "Trust Christ He paid the price" on one side and "He Saved Others—Jesus—He'll Save You" on the other side.  

According to First Liberty, Giardino had marched around town with similar signs for about eight months.

But on June 20, he was stopped by a Chapin police officer who told him he needed the city's permission to share his message with a sign. 

The next day, the city officials confirmed Giardino would have to apply for a permit to continue sharing his faith.

The permits would limit Giardino to holding his sign for only 30 minutes and he was advised that he would need to change sidewalk corners every 15 minutes while holding a sign, according to the law group.

"A demonstration permit really should not apply to someone holding up a sign saying 'Trust Christ, he paid the price,'" First Liberty Senior Counsel Nate Kellum told The Post and Courier.

City spokesperson, Nicholle Burroughs, said permits have been required since 1980, although an amendment was made in 2021 to streamline the process for getting approval.

"Our goal is to balance the right to free speech with the need for reasonable regulations on the size, placement, and duration of signage, as well as the use of amplification devices," Burroughs said in a statement. "This policy ensures that individuals can still convey their messages while protecting the town's public spaces from excessive noise, visual pollution, and potential safety hazards."  

Kellum argues that if it's public property then constitutional rights have to be recognized adding, "There could be some legitimate reasons for why a person can't be in a certain place because it can cause (traffic) congestion or be some type of traffic hazard or something of that nature, but none of those things apply here."
 
First Liberty has sent a letter to the Town of Chapin arguing that Giardino is not subject to Chapin's permitting requirement.

"A prior restraint like Chapin's ordinance can survive challenge only if it does not delegate overly broad licensing discretion to government officials," the letter continues. "Chapin's permit scheme falls short of this standard, in multiple ways."

First Liberty is asking Chapin to respond to the letter by November 12 and ensure that Chapin will no longer ban Giardino's free expression on public sidewalks through permit requirements.

"No one needs the government's permission to express their faith in public," said Kellum. "The First Amendment is his permit. Like any citizen in any city in America, Mr. Giardino is free to peacefully share his religious beliefs on a public sidewalk. Chapin's ordinance is overbroad, unconstitutional, and must be repealed or enjoined."

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