[Vision2020] "Please do not continue to confuse people with facts."

[Wayne Price]

Tom,

Not to mention, that a cigarette takes about 5 minutes to smoke! So,  
by the time a police car gets to the scene, the smoker will probably  
be done smoking!
Can you see the police now wading into John's Alley looking for the  
alleged perpetrator?  What about witnesses? I can hear it now, "You  
look like you might have been outside within
20 feet of the door smoking!".........................

Stupid laws make for stupid enforcement, which just causes contempt  
for the law. And notice, from they way they have been talking, IF you  
don't contest the ticket and REQUIRE proof
that you're guilty of what you're accused of, the fine is less? So we  
have a double standard, IF you make the city PROVE it's case in court,  
your fine is more than if you just roll over and
pay the ticket!  At the risk of a higher fine, I just hope that most  
of the folks that get the tickets DO ask for a trial! We are now  
talking in the theoretical sense, but the hue and cry when they start  
ticketing unsuspecting college students when they get back to the bars  
next
month will really endear the city to students, not to mention their  
own UofI Senators, because "ALL the students are so in  
favor"..................




On Jul 27, 2009, at 5:53 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:

> Joe Campbell stated:
>
> "I am unhappy with the details of this particular law -- the 20 foot  
> rule
> is just one example. That strikes me as unnecessary overkill. And it  
> is
> always a bad idea to pass a law that cannot be enforced."
>
> True, Joe.  The smoking ban may be extremely difficult for local
> authorities to enforce.
>
> What I do foresee, though, is a bunch of citizen complaints being  
> filed
> with the Moscow Police Desk Sergeant ("Hey, Sergeant Jones, they're
> smoking over at John's Alley again.") . . . not to mention a major
> increase in unnecessary 911 calls ("Quick!  Get over to CJ's!  I  
> just saw
> two of them light up.").
>
> This could expend local police resources that could be better utilized
> pursuing real crimes.  By the time the local authorities issue the
> ten-dollar citation to "Joe the Smoker", local authorities would have
> already spent time and effort dwarfing the ten-dollar "revenue" the  
> city
> would realize . . . at a time when budgets are tightening.
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to  
> change
> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
>
> - Unknown
>
>
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