Green Energy
h/t Damien (not THAT Damien, OUR Damien)
Fox 16:
Ordinance threatens citizens' constitutional rights
Reported by: Katherine Johnson
GOULD, AR - "I feel as though our city is being held hostage by the city council," said Gould Mayor Earnest Nash.
Gould, Arkansas is made up of about 850 people. 850 people the Mayor believes will soon have cause for 850 lawsuits.
"This is America and even though this is Gould, Arkansas, this is still part of America. And in America, you can't just vote and violate peoples constitutional rights," said Nash.
Monday night, the city council wrote an ordinance disbanding a citizen's group and forbidding any future groups from forming without city council approval.
The ordinance states, "No new organizations shall be allowed to exist within the city of Gould without approval from majority of the city council."
Another ordinance bans the mayor from meeting with anyone without council approval.
"To tell me that I can't travel and I can't go to meetings and I can't get the money that we need - that's ludicrous!" said the Mayor.
"In everything, you have somebody in control over it. In everything," said Council Member Sonja Farley.
Farley says no matter the group, if you discuss the city at all, the meeting must be approved by the city council.
"You couldn't just come in here and get with four people and decide you want to start an organization," said Farley. "You will go through your city council with documentation, the right paperwork and get an approval."
"To tell me as the mayor I can't meet with all of the people in this room and inform them of city business, that's ludicrous," said Nash.
The Gould Citizens Advisory Commission is banned from meeting in the ordinance. They argue this new potential law would violate their constitutional rights.
"This will not be signed," said the Mayor. "This will not be signed into law. I promise you that. If they want it signed into law, I'll repute it again. They can take me to court."
Currently, as written, the ordinance is extremely vague. Right now it encompasses boy scout troops, book clubs and even discussing city matters with your family in your own home.
The Mayor vetoed the ordinance at Monday night's meeting on a technicality but fears once it's brought up at the council's August meeting, he won't be able to stop it from becoming law.
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Green Energy
Gould, Arkansas City Council Flagrantly Disregards The First Amendment
h/t Damien (not THAT Damien, OUR Damien)
Fox 16:
Ordinance threatens citizens' constitutional rights
Reported by: Katherine Johnson
GOULD, AR - "I feel as though our city is being held hostage by the city council," said Gould Mayor Earnest Nash.
Gould, Arkansas is made up of about 850 people. 850 people the Mayor believes will soon have cause for 850 lawsuits.
"This is America and even though this is Gould, Arkansas, this is still part of America. And in America, you can't just vote and violate peoples constitutional rights," said Nash.
Monday night, the city council wrote an ordinance disbanding a citizen's group and forbidding any future groups from forming without city council approval.
The ordinance states, "No new organizations shall be allowed to exist within the city of Gould without approval from majority of the city council."
Another ordinance bans the mayor from meeting with anyone without council approval.
"To tell me that I can't travel and I can't go to meetings and I can't get the money that we need - that's ludicrous!" said the Mayor.
"In everything, you have somebody in control over it. In everything," said Council Member Sonja Farley.
Farley says no matter the group, if you discuss the city at all, the meeting must be approved by the city council.
"You couldn't just come in here and get with four people and decide you want to start an organization," said Farley. "You will go through your city council with documentation, the right paperwork and get an approval."
"To tell me as the mayor I can't meet with all of the people in this room and inform them of city business, that's ludicrous," said Nash.
The Gould Citizens Advisory Commission is banned from meeting in the ordinance. They argue this new potential law would violate their constitutional rights.
"This will not be signed," said the Mayor. "This will not be signed into law. I promise you that. If they want it signed into law, I'll repute it again. They can take me to court."
Currently, as written, the ordinance is extremely vague. Right now it encompasses boy scout troops, book clubs and even discussing city matters with your family in your own home.
The Mayor vetoed the ordinance at Monday night's meeting on a technicality but fears once it's brought up at the council's August meeting, he won't be able to stop it from becoming law.
- Neo-nazis Demand German Mayor Turn Over List Of City’s Jews
YNet News reported:Document circulating online and in German media claims local neo-Nazi party demanded list of names, addresses of city’s Jews in order to ‘do its job’.A neo-Nazi party from the city of Dortmund has reportedly demanded the...
- Scranton, Pennsylvania
Ye, gods! From this source, dated July 9, 2012: Pennsylvania city workers to take mayor to court over across-the-board minimum wage salaries Employees of a Pennsylvania city, who have all seen their salaries cut to minimum wage as the mayor grapples with...
- Spain: Two Islamic Associations From Lérida Ask Local Council To Forbid Dogs In Buses In Public Area
Two Islamic organizations based in Lerida have asked the City Council to enact local rules to prohibit the presence of dogs in both city buses and in some areas frequented mostly by Muslims, as...
- Cair Seeks To Have Government Investigation Of Lancaster Mayor For Declaring Their Town Is A "christian Community"
From the Sacramento Bee: LANCASTER, Calif. -- A Muslim group filed a federal civil rights complaint Friday after a Southern California mayor remarked that he was "growing a Christian community" in a state of the city address last week.In a letter...
- Danger Signals, Written With Feet
Elvis Soto's variety store used to make money. But few customers have been walking through his door lately, and his merchandise _ calling cards, cell phones, car stereos, clothing _ is collecting dust on the shelves. With bills mounting, Soto might...