Lack of Agreement as to Meaning Results in Lack of Expressive Conduct
In Vellegos v. City of Gilroy, the Ninth Circuit upheld the grant of summary judgment to the City of Gilroy.
Members of a motorcycle club brought suit for violation of their first amendment right of free expression and association after they were ejected from a town festival celebrating garlic, having refused to remove their motorcycle insignia. In deposition, members of the club had described various meanings to the insignia, which consisted of a winged skull with a top hat. For example, one member said the skull represented that everyone is the same underneath the skin; while another member said the skull signified death. Still another member said the insignia had whatever meaning the viewer wanted to apply to it.
The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the city, finding the club members had not been engaged in expressive conduct. The Ninth Circuit agreed that the lack of agreement by the club members as to the intended meaning of the insignia rendered the wearing of such insignia non-expressive.
