BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A Western New York family says their neighbor is harassing them by putting up Nazi symbols and graphic signs with foul language, after a dispute that began over chickens. And that's just the start of things.
You can read more about Dave McKinley's conversations with the man who has the flags and banners on his fence and the neighbors who say he’s harassing them in his story that aired on Tuesday.
2 On Your Side got a lot of feedback on that story from viewers on Facebook and Twitter, so we went to a First Amendment attorney for legal analysis.
"As of now, it's a First Amendment protected right," says attorney James Ostrowski.
Ostrowski has 35 years of experience specializing in First and Second Amendment case law. He says, generally speaking, the First Amendment protects speech and the government cannot regulate speech by content.
"If you're the neighbors here in this case, is there anything you can do to make the neighbor take down his signs?" asked 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik.
"I can't think of anything other than maybe some technical sign ordinance at the local level," says Ostrowski. "Basically, as long as it's not provoking an immediate fight like in a bar on the street corner or creating a risk of a riot, the First Amendment is pretty close to absolute."
Ostrowski says perhaps the best way to solve this dispute is to talk it out, if that's an option.
"Neighbors have to get along, and if you don't, there's not always going to be a sheriff or a marshal out there who can come in and solve it. Sometimes people have to use their common sense," he says.