KEY WEST, FL – A Key West couple filed a federal lawsuit today against the City of Key West for selectively enforcing regulations against residents who painted fence pickets in rainbow colors to protest the city's removal of its Duval Street rainbow crosswalks. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Florida, Reid Levin PLLC, and The Smith Law Firm.
Installed in 2015 as a symbol of inclusion for the city’s LGBTQ+ community, the rainbow crosswalks were among several removed in Florida last year after the DeSantis administration threatened local governments with financial penalties if they did not remove them.
Following the removal, Coley Sohn and Linda Bagley-Sohn painted twelve of the pickets on their home’s fence in rainbow colors and inspired many other Key West residents to join their colorful protest. More than 50 rainbow picket displays were painted in Key West’s Old Town after the crosswalks’ removal, with many more throughout other parts of the city.
However, some people did not agree with the message of the protest and complained to the city. This prompted the city to cite the Bagley-Sohns and other homeowners under regulations requiring all fences in Key West's historic district to be painted white. Despite the couple’s unanswered application for approval of their fence display, the city ordered them to repaint their fence white or else they would be subject to fines.
Facing these monetary sanctions, the Bagley-Sohn family removed their rainbow display and painted their pickets white. Most, if not all, of the other Key West residents who joined this colorful protest faced similar penalties and painted over their fences too— censoring their free expression.
To protest the city’s removal of the rainbow crosswalks, we painted some of our fence pickets in rainbow colors, showing that our community still stands for inclusion,” said Coley Sohn. “No one should lose their right to speak out simply because those in power disagree with the message, and the government can’t single out some views over others, deciding how to enforce its laws. That’s what the First Amendment protects us from.”
While the city eagerly enforced its regulations against the rainbow pickets, it has chosen not to cite other noncompliant households for similar fence-color violations. In fact, the lawsuit provides numerous examples of fences and other exterior structures in Key West’s historic district that are violating the same guidelines cited against the rainbow displays. Yet, these other violations have not faced enforcement. The city’s actions to selectively enforce these regulations against only rainbow-colored fences violated the Bagley-Sohns’ First Amendment rights.
“The government cannot enforce a law against people who express particular messages or views, while ignoring violations with different content or messages,” said ACLU of Florida staff attorney Nicholas Warren. “That’s selective enforcement, and it’s illegal. We’ll see the city in court.”
“The forced removal of rainbow crosswalks and Pride-related street art across the state reveals the threat Florida leaders have unleashed on free expression. Allowing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to escalate into censorship is an act of state overreach that should concern everyone,” added Samantha Past, ACLU of Florida staff attorney. “The Bagley-Sohn family have bravely and creatively protested the state’s attempt to erase LGBTQ+ identities and exercised their First Amendment rights on behalf of their community and the constitutional freedoms that protect us all.”
The lawsuit, Sohn v. City of Key West, is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
You can read the complaint here.
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