When I lived in Dc, there were these bums begging on every corner. I am proud to say that I never gave a single one of them so much as one damn penny.
On Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 11:58 AM, Rick <[email protected]> wrote: > > Benjamin Franklin once stated that "Any society that would give up a > little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose > both. " And so it seems in the latest ongoing debate in Missoula, > Montana about "limiting aggressive panhandling" downtown. See > http://missoulian.com/articles/2009/07/29/news/local/news04.txt > One might well ask, well aren't their already laws on the books that > deal with aggressive behaviors? And the of course, why aren't they > being enforced? Why is it that the police have a need to add another > $100 ticket to their arsenal in order to do something constructive > about aggressive and intimidating behaviors of panhandlers? Why > doesn't Missoula's City Council just bite the bullet and ban > "panhandlers" altogether from our beautiful downtown? Out of sight, > out of mind? The real problems of and with the "homeless" both here > and all across America are economic, social and addiction related. > Maybe, instead of exacerbating the situation further, the City Council > and the police should instead spend a week on the streets, and get a > whole new perspective on the "problem." You know, walk a mile in their > shoes. They are humans after all. > > Just like you and me. > And in Montana, they, like everyone else, have what Montana's > Constitution calls inalienable rights - Article ll - Section 3. "They > include the right to a clean and healthful environment and the rights > of pursuing life's basic necessities, enjoying and defending their > lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, > and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways." > > Before City Councilors, the Mayor or the Police assume office, > (including their "Rules of Professional Conduct") they must swear the > following oath of office: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will > support, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, and > the constitution of the state of Montana, and that I will discharge > the duties of my office with fidelity (so help me God).” > > And finally, you and I and every other taxpayer is being asked to > "pay" for our City Council and additional police to deal with yet > "another" problem. And what of all the other "problems" we Missoulians > are already "paying" for? Why do we still have murders, rapes, > assaults, burglaries, theft, auto-theft, arson, fights etc in > Missoula, MT at all? Why? > > So maybe, the real issue is this: Missoulians giving up more of our > essential liberties on the pretext that our police don't have enough > laws at their disposal to deal with aggressive and/or intimidating > behaviors, downtown (only during the summer, of course). > > Well, in Missoula, we simply call this situation mere political bull > pucky playing .... > > So, once again, Benjamin Franklin stated that "Any fool can criticize, > condemn and complain and most fools do." > > So exactly, who are the fools who are complaining about not having the > means to deal with "aggressive panhandling downtown" and "homeless" > people sleeping downtown? > > Well, read the new "proposed" ordinance addressing solicitation and > intimidating panhandling. and, also, Could these proposed rules > interfere with Missoulians free speech rights? > > > http://www.speakupmissoula.com/topic/200/Could_the_proposed_panhandling_rule_interfere_with_free_speech_rights > > As always, I'd like to encourage your comments about this important > topic. > > thanks, > > Rick Gold > Missoula, MT > http://mtlegal.blogspot.com > http://mtlegal.wordpress.com > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
