ST. LOUIS — On Feb. 28, 2012, the ACLU of Eastern Missouri applauded the City of Ballwin for repealing its ordinance that made it a crime to extend a body part out of a car window. The ACLU represented Steven Pogue in municipal court after he was charged with violating the ordinance for gesturing with his middle finger to a driver who ran a red light. The officer pulled over Pogue rather than the red-light violator, and charged him with an ordinance violation.
“The ordinance allowed police officers the discretion to haul into court citizens who expressed a viewpoint with which the officers disagreed,” said Brenda Jones, Executive Director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. “Repealing the law fits within our nation’s finest traditions of allowing free expression without fear of arrest.”
“There will always be speech that is distasteful to some, and that is exactly why the First Amendment protects free speech for all,” said ACLU of Eastern Missouri Legal Director Anthony E. Rothert. “Freedom of expression is at the very core of the American values.”