The face of freedom in V for Vendetta.
Perhaps the best costume for the teen-plus set
in Belleville
In important ways, Halloween is just like any other holiday. That is, we can all figure out how to have a good time that day. It doesn't take a rule book to figure out how to put on a costume, throw a party or go trick-or-treating.
And if somebody pushes the limits of the holiday? Well we're perfecty capable of telling forty-year-old trick-or-treaters to get lost ourselves, without a cop along to peer over our shoulders and monitor the proceedings. If the cop is needed because somebody is using the holiday as an excuse to break things or rough people up, I imagine we can find the phone ourselves to summon the law to enforce the myriad regulations already on the books; we don't need a special list of dos and don'ts for the day.
But just try to tell that to the ruling junta in Belleville, Illinois. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Today, Belleville Mayor Mark W. Eckert signed a new law -- approved by the Belleville City Council Monday night -- that sets new rules for those wanting to dress up for Halloween and on other days of the year.
The new law, prompted by complaints from homeowners who were scared by late-night trick-or-treating, will:
* Ban anyone in the ninth grade and up from trick or treating on Halloween unless they are a "special-needs" child, who must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
* Limits the hours of trick-or-treating on Halloween night from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. No one can trick or treat later than 8:30 p.m.
*Allow children, 12 years old or younger, to wear a mask or disguise any day of the year. Anyone older than that can only wear a mask or disguise on Halloween, but not on any other day of the year.
* Prohibit any child sex offender from going to any event or holding any event for Halloween where any child, other than their own, is present. It requires those offenders to turn out their outside lights on Halloween night and bans them from handing out candy.
The sex offender issue issue I'm going to leave for another time, except to ask with regards to the proliferation of restrictions on where they can live and what they can do: If released sex offenders remain so dangerous, are we really dealing with them the right way?
But as for the other rules ...
Do we really need a year-round ban on adults wearing costumes, with a one-day exception?
Can't homeowners turn away candy-grubbing high-schoolers without a legal age limit (carrying a $25 fine) on trick-or-treaters?
Isn't it sufficient to just turn off the porch lights if you're done for the evening, just like those folks who choose to completely sit-out the holiday have been doing for generations?
The answer seems to be that Belleville politicians have pretty firm and fast rules about holidays and how they are to be celebrated -- by force of law. According to the Associated Press, "Mayor Mark W. Eckert ... says the city's government also believes Halloween is for small children."
So Eckert feels entitled to turn his own preconceptions about a holiday into an enforceable mandate for his unfortunate subjects. What a swell guy.
Honestly, Belleville isn't exactly fun town, USA. Just a couple of years ago, bar and club owners complained that local authorities were on a jihad to enforce every dotted "i" and crossed "t" of local regulations, with the ultimate goal of driving many businesses to close their doors. From the Riverfront Times:
"You get a little scared that if you p-ss off the wrong person, you're gonna get shut down," says Bobby Menard, a former metro-east bar owner. Menard says police are more intent on punishing bar owners than patrons who break the law. "You don't seem to have that problem in other cities, like you do here."
Hmmm ... I'm starting to see a pattern here. Rules aren't just rules in this town -- they're bludgeons for keeping the little people in line.
Honestly, I can think of a costume that would be very appropriate for all of the people of Belleveville to wear on any day of the year. You remember the masses of anti-government protesters dressed in Guy Fawkes masks in the movie V for Vendetta? That would be a costume worth seeing over and over again in the streets of the town where the Grinch stole Halloween.
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Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com
Comments
http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com
These Halloween rules, are nothing but Mass Hysteria and Moral Panics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_hysteria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic
If you are scared of the boogeyman on Halloween, then go along with your child on this night, and if the lights are off, go elsewhere.
First, let me get this out. I am totally against ANY form of abuse to any human being. And I believe anyone who murders another human being should be in prison for the rest of their life (until they die). I do not believe in the death penalty for anyone. Also, I believe that once a person has been in and out of prison and has served their probation and parole, done everything required of them, and what was signed on the "contract" when they took the plea, none of this should be required of them, none of it. The state cannot tear up a contract like this, which they are basically doing, it's unconstitutional. Many people, if they had known they would be faced with all this, they would have NOT taken a plea deal. And the courts are very aware of this and this is why they made it retroactive; thus violating ex-post facto laws! They should be allowed to get on with their life as if nothing happened. I'm not saying for it to be removed from their record, but, the crime should be removed from public view and background checks, they should not have any more restrictions, shaming, etc. If they commit another crime, then they face a lot more punishment, like everything else is treated.
When are we going to move away from being "TOUGH ON CRIME" and move to being "SMART ON CRIME?" If you locked every single s*x offender up, at this moment, or killed every one of them, do you think the problem is over? No, more will follow.
I've heard many people say "If these laws protect one child, then they are worth it!" And at the same time, if millions are tortured, it's ok. Offenders are losing their homes, jobs, families, and children and cannot find new jobs or homes due to the insanity of these laws. The families are also made into outcasts for associating with or being related to an ex-offender and their own children are harassed and bullied at schools due to a family member being an ex-offender.
I know these laws are a sensitive issue, but as all issues, they must be discussed and we must come up with a valid solution that will work. The laws, as they exist now, DO NOT WORK! People are always saying they cause unintended consequences. These laws have been on the books for years now, so nothing is unintended anymore. When are we going to set aside fear, hate, rage and anger and come up with a real solution? History has proven that these feelings NEVER get good laws passed but only create bad ones that punish and torture many people. These knee-jerk reactions to a slim number of high-profile crimes, like Adam Walsh and Jessica Lunsford, MUST STOP!
When an ex-offender is forced to move from his/her home, thus having to sell it, cannot find another home within the law due to the residency "buffer" zones, get fired from their jobs due to being on the registry, cannot find a new job due to being on the registry, their husband/wife lose their jobs due to a significant other being on the registry, their children lose their friends and are harassed and bullied in school due to a family member being on the registry, thus destroying the children's lives, ex-offenders are forced into homelessness and to live under bridges, harassed by police, neighbors and probation/parole officers, have to wear "I'm a s*x offender T-shirt" or have a neon green license plate on ALL their cars, have "s*x offender" on their drivers license and forced to renew their licenses every year, forced from shelters during tornadoes or hurricanes, cannot give blood at some places due to being discriminated against for being on the s*x offender registry, denied housing due to being on the registry, signs placed in their yards inviting harassment and ridicule from the neighbors, forced to move when the neighbors start picketing outside the ex-offenders home, the list is endless.
I THINK THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, BEYOND THE EXTREME!
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