What can we say, its getting this absurd and more elsewhere too.

Government busy bodies telling people how to live there lifes, when they are just hypocrites.

sounds to me like she needs to hit up ebay and sell her stuff or craigslist, then move away after writing an angry letter to her mayor's office.

That or I would leave the rest of the stuff I don't want on city hall's front steps, but they might get her for littering then

Wow that is ridiculous, not being allowed to have a moving sale on your own property. And how about the cops intimidating the lady, come on.

Liles and her friends describe the encounter with police differently. "He started screaming and yelling. He took his handcuffs out," Sue Baderman said. "Two of them showed up and said, 'We're going to arrest you,' " Roger Ables said. "He boomed, 'Everybody put your stuff down and leave the premises. If you accept one more cent from another person, you'll be fined $250,' " Gail Halfhill said.

Yard sales are the only bastion of basic trade that exists today. Also, I believe that if you get your kids involved it helps in the actual true world development of negotiating skills.

If your local Government asks for a permit to hold a "sale" on your own property you all better come together and fight them. The problem is when no one cares in your neighborhood and they "push" it to need a permit.

There are many people out there who think that "Yard Sale" brings out the Mexicans....straight racist. Depending on where you live.

LOL. All one has to do in this situation is remain calm. Tell the officer that, I will be following my lawful rights, if you insist on arresting me or issuing a fine, I will go to a full jury trial.

People need to tell these idiots we will not take it anymore. Any DA would know this would be a no win case. Do not put up with it people, if you let them do crap like this, when will it end.

Just as someone else said, do we need permits to breathe? The only reason cops are the way they are, is to intimidate people into complying. If you do not comply, they have no power.

Try and find any jury in the US that would actually say guilty. LOL.

I think we should take a look at the "trickle-down" theory here.

What was the catalyst for enacting this law in the first place?

Was there a neighbor holding weekly yard sales?

Were there an inordinate number of yard sales every weekend causing traffic to back up or block the streets?

Were too many lookers parking in the other neighbors yards?

Perhaps the problems caused in the neighborhood could be rectified by having a public space available for yard sales at some vacant corner lot.

Was the law enacted because the neighborhood had a lot of complaints? If so, then it was her own neighbors who initiated the actions that were put in place.

There are always two sides to every story.

I heard about this permit for a yard sale years ago, like around 1991 or so, iw as 16 then, here in my city. I dont know if it was ever enforced. The word was, its becuase it hrust big buisness and the system aka IRS, city isnt making 1 dime on anything you sell, so this was the answer they conjured up..they cannot totaly tellyou you cannot have a tag slae, but with a few strokes of a pen, they can make a law, limitiing it. The system and our tax money hard at work... too bad its all being used agaiasnt us all.

I did some work for the City of Plano years ago where they put together a web application for getting this permit. I asked at the time about it because it seemed so ludicrous. They said the reason the law came about (there at least) was that there was a few businesses going around renting people's yards to hold these huge sales every weekend. They were pretending to be garage sales, but in fact, they were retailers who were avoiding paying sales and use tax. The city felt that getting a permit was a way to crack down on these types of tax evasions. For what it's worth. *shrug*

We have the same ordinance here: Only two garage sales per home are allowed a year.

There is some logic behind it: This prevents people from making garage sales a business. As in, going to county auctions, storage unit auctions where you can buy someone's entire lot who didn't keep up with their storage bill, and other lots from businesses that were shut down. Then having a garage sale every weekend on their property to sell the wares, tax-free, and driving neighbors crazy who thought they lived in a residential area instead of a resell mall.

Not saying I agree or disagree: Just passing on what I know.

With all that said, I do feel for the woman. It's not like she was trying to cheat the government out of tax revenue or use her home for a business (possibly zoning violation). She just wanted to get rid of her stuff before a move. I don't think the world would end had she been allowed a 3rd garage sale.

Very frustrating but that is government for you. Permits, permits, and more permits.

[edit on 10/31/2009 by AshleyD]

It's funny; when people we don't like flout the law with impunity we get all up in arms and cry that laws should be enforced. And I agree, even for little crimes, the law is the law and if you break it, you risk the consequences. Cities that overlook the small laws tend to be cesspools, and when they start enforcing them, all crime goes down.

Unfortunately, as some have pointed out, laws like this are on the books because of people who took advantage and went and ruined it for everyone else. However, no one ever gets mad at those people; they get mad at the people who try to rein in that behavior. (The city doesn't make much from $5 permits, especially when they send out a code enforcement officer to enforce them!)

I'm sure nowhere in that law does it say it doesn't apply to senior citizens who are moving to take care of a husband with a stroke. It applies to her, too, even though I'm sure she's a lovely person.

The reason she flouted the law is compelling, but to me it's no different from illegal aliens who excuse their breaking our laws because they want a better life for their family. Uh, who doesn't? Everybody has a reason for doing what they do, and if we let everybody have their way because they had a reason, we wouldn't have any laws left to enforce.

I suppose when her permit was turned down, she could've petitioned for some kind of waiver or asked a neighbor if they would take out a permit and have a combined yard sale.

As for the differing accounts, that's par for the course. It sounds like they thought they could just get the $250 fine and still have the yard sale; it doesn't work like that. You get the fine AND they shut you down.