Crossing the line

If the sole purpose of planting the crudely hand-drawn sign, which read “Baby Killers Live Here,” was shock value, it certainly succeeded. Christopher Burke was appalled to see the sign on the edge of his lawn Sunday morning. But it doesn’t explain the reason the Burkes were targeted.

Neither Burke nor his wife work in professions connected to abortion access, he said Wednesday. He has occasionally donated small amounts of money to Planned Parenthood in the past “because I believe in that freedom.” But his job is nothing related to that at all.

Burke offered his own idea for why the sign was placed near his home — a much simpler and more practical theory: “It’s due to the fact that I had posted signs for Democratic candidates in a couple of election cycles. There’s no other immediate thought that comes to mind, because I’m really not a public person. I was fairly open about supporting the Democrats in the last local election.”

Theological, moral or political, the placard on Christopher Burke’s lawn crosses a line. When something like this happens on somebody’s private property it stops being free speech and becomes hate speech. It’s a shameful and terrible act for people to be made to feel they should bear blame for their beliefs. This is a direct attack at somebody in a hostile way.