John Guyer's remarks

[DonaldH675@aol.com]

Dear John,

I wish you'd taken your own advice before working so hard to pass this 
ordinance.  Every admonition you deliver to those of us who are angry applies 
equally to you and to the other Council members who sought "modesty" (your 
word, I think) over equal rights and protection for all citizens.

>I would like to use this opportunity to draw your attention to that fact
>that we have NOT had local nor state police rounding up parents changing
>diapers, nor our young when they "violate" the ordinance or statute in
>this regard.  I, for one, do not expect that to change.  We do have
>common sense peace officers.

Without disrespect to any police officer, I'm not prepared to trust their 
"common sense" in applying an unenforceable law.  It seems to me the Council 
realized they couldn't write a law which actually achieved their goal, so 
they wrote a much broader and meaningless law which they trust will be 
enforced as they hoped by police--thereby shifting any blame to the Police 
Department, rather than to the Council.  When my complaints about some 
construction worker's butt crack go disregarded because "everybody knows" 
that's not what the ordinance means, and a young Latino man in low riding 
jeans or a skateboarding girl in a bikini gets cited because he or she is 
"obviously" not the kind of person we want to encourage in our community, 
will respect for the law be increased?  

>Putting the community through the referendum process is not going to
>bring us together.  Rehashing this will continue to divide us.  Did you
>not believe your own testimony?  While I am not directly discouraging
>you from pursuing your rights, I would ask you to please consider, as
>did we as a council, what impact your actions will have.  Will the
>campaign on both sides of the issue bring us together?  Will the
>community ever be the same after the heated campaign?

As I recall, these same arguments were lobbied against civil rights workers 
who wanted to desegregate Mississippi and Alabama.  Silencing dissent doesn't 
unite a community; it just makes the "winners" more comfortable. 

Where do I sign the petition?

Melynda Huskey