Sign Vandalism

I called an old friend in Santa Rosa (in Sonoma County, CA, north of San Francisco) to tell her about the Ruth Institute Home Party Kits. The first words out of her mouth were, "we're doing great up here, but people keep stealing our Yes on Prop 8 signs."
The Orange County Register reports it as well.

After watching the political signs in his Fountain Valley neighborhood slashed and their replacements disappear, Jeff Carr knew what he had to do.

A contractor by profession, Carr built a two-by-four frame box around the flimsy plastic sign that reads "Yes on Prop 8." The box, with plexiglass and low-voltage lighting, has legs sunk two feet into the ground.

"You can kick this thing or try to cut it. It's indestructible unless you drive over it," Carr said. "It's my First Amendment right to have a sign in my front yard, for God's sake."

In downtown Huntington Beach, Kui Gomez held a late-night stakeout and unsuccessfully ran after someone who'd stolen his "Yes on 8" sign before jumping into a van.

He said nine to 11 signs on his neighbors' front yards have also been ripped up or slashed.

"We have signs galore," Gomez said. "I'll put out the same I had plus two."

The Irvine Police Department has reported the most Prop 8 sign vandalism by far. Since Oct. 8, eight Yes on Prop. 8 signs have been stolen or spray painted. Two of those incidents ended in citizen's arrests for petty theft, Lt. Rick Handfield said.

Shu-Chih Yuen, an Irvine resident, said she's resorted to displaying her "Yes on 8" sign on the window after one was stolen and two tagged with "no" over the "yes."

"Irvine has been rated as the safest city and I never thought this would be happening in the city," Yuen said. "Not just is my property being violated but my right to speak is being violated. It's kind of scary, you feel like people are attacking us almost."