The Nashville Metro Council may have far exceeded its reach when it voted to not allow Morgan Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen to have external signage with his name on it, according to a prominent Nashville attorney. See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Tuesday (May 21), the council voted to reject plans for Wallen’s 20-foot external sign to appear on the six-story venue, which is slated to open Memorial Day weekend. Only three members voted in favor of the sign, with 30 members voting against.
Four council members abstained. Some members of the council cited Wallen’s past controversial incidents as reasons for rejecting the sign. Signage requests for the outside of buildings that hang over public property — including sidewalks — are required to obtain council approval.
“I don’t want to see a billboard up with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off of balconies and who is saying racial slurs,” at-large council member Delishia Porterfield said, according to The Tennessean. “Mr. Wallen is a fellow East Tennessean.
He gives all of us a bad name,” District 14 ouncil member Jordan Huffman added. “His comments are hateful; his actions are harmful.” However, such a decision is a case of government overreach, says the attorney: “You can’t as the government take negative action against something someone said.
The Council was way out on a limb. It violates the First Amendment to say, ‘You used the N-wor.
