Ordinance threatens citizens' constitutional rights

GOULD, AR - "I feel as though our city is being held hostage by the city council," said Gould Mayor Earnest Nash.

Gould, Arkansas is made up of about 850 people. 850 people the Mayor believes will soon have cause for 850 lawsuits.

"This is America and even though this is Gould, Arkansas, this is still part of America. And in America, you can't just vote and violate peoples constitutional rights," said Nash.

Monday night, the city council wrote an ordinance disbanding a citizen's group and forbidding any future groups from forming without city council approval.

The ordinance states, "No new organizations shall be allowed to exist within the city of Gould without approval from majority of the city council."

Another ordinance bans the mayor from meeting with anyone without council approval.

www.fox16.com...

I ran across this and thought it was interesting. I don't live in the area so it's not something I'm familiar with. I'll try to keep an eye on the news to get some more details about it. According to the report the ordinance can include boys scout troops, book clubs and discussing city matters with family in your home. That quote seems a little far reaching, but the idea in general seems overreaching also. I'm sure there are already laws and regulations regarding the matters this ordinance targets, so it seems redundant and makes one wonder as to its overall purpose.

I say organize an "all patches welcome" motorcycle rally on the towns main drag and party it up for all of america. See how many organizations can exist in that town for a weekend.

It's getting to the point where violence is one of the only options people have left. Violence is a universal language understood by all. the people of this town should exercise their right to peacefully assemble and their right to firearms outside each council members house as a friendly reminder.

For so long now, people have been supporting a non-violent approach to protesting the oncoming Police State. I have agreed with it 100%

This option will not be available soon as people feel more and more enslaved and powerless. It just seems that TPTB want violence to erupt in order to justify boots on the ground in America.

Unfortunately, it's going to happen just the way they want and it will then be a matter of time to see who comes out victorious.

People believe that no one wants violence and they truly believe that TPTB don't want it, but it's exactly what they want as it's exactly what is needed to carry out total domination of an entire Nation.

If it's not done, TPTB will win...If it is done, there's a chance TPTB will fall. Given the options, what will people choose?

What the hell is going on in this country? First, the council in Quartsite, Arizona, now the council in Gould, Arkansas,

This is tyranny on steroids. I can’t imagine this will stand up in court but it appears that the city council wants to test that theory. Just unbelievable that they would even do this. They must be really crooked if they want to silence people in this manner.

You know, it seems like this is just the start, and dang if it ain't gettin old already.


Oh, yeah, my dog says he seconds the motion.

I'd read this story earlier and laughed a bit. I shouldn't laugh...The people of this town have lived under tyranny in smaller forms for who knows how long. It was just somewhat humorous because the city council went one step too far this time and the outside world is about to come in and flush the little toilet they all serve in at city hall. I don't know this specific town...but do we need to if we've lived in small towns before? This one will get cleaned out, and thats something. At least they took it far enough to bring solid court action.

reply to post by ThaLoccster


The goofy part is the fact the ordinance is not illegal until its passed and a person is affected by it. A person must be injured under the law in order to have standing.

Dont get me wrong, I dont agree with any law that would force groups to be approved by a government body. To me its a vioaltion of the 1st amendment, freedom of associaition.

Let them pass it, let the citizens form a group, let city council act, and then nail city council butts to the wall. Absent that, the people should be allowed under state law to recall elected officals, and even vote to disband the city (unincorperate).

Reply to post by Xcathdra

Every single person in that town should make a group. 850 groups telling the council to shove it.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
Reply to post by Xcathdra

 

Every single person in that town should make a group. 850 groups gelling the council to shove it.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Sounds about right to me. Quartzite Arizona is under the microscope because of their actions. I am not sure why another city council think s they can just do what theyt want without recourse.

reply to post by Xcathdra


it's because they're desperate to maintain control.

it's amazing how many ordinances have to be created to do nothing more than say that they have control over us. It's annoying and those that say it's becoming more and more time to react violently due to the civilian populations being pushed in a corner couldn't have it more right.

Originally posted by HellstormRising
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

it's because they're desperate to maintain control.

it's amazing how many ordinances have to be created to do nothing more than say that they have control over us. It's annoying and those that say it's becoming more and more time to react violently due to the civilian populations being pushed in a corner couldn't have it more right.

Of course they are annoying. They are annoying to me when I have to deal with those ordinances on a daily basis in my job. I have better things to do then tell people their grass is to high.

The issue however is not the city council who i spassing these absurd laws. Its the people who not only know the absurd laws are being passed, its the people who re-elect these idiots back into office.

Nobody seems to want to deal with government until the the government takes action against you perosnally. Otherwise its the typicals it doesnt affect me BS argument we all give. If people would take a stand sooner rather than later, and support each other under the guise of community and basic common human decency and knowing whats right, we would not be in some of the pickles we find ourselves in.

14 trillion in debt comes to mind at the federal level.
Quartzite Arizona at the local level.

For some reason we can find the 3 hours to sit in front of the tv every night, yet we cant find the hour to hour and a half once every 2 weeks to attentd a city council meeting?

And we say Government is the problem?

Please, folks, don't panic. This is obviously just a bunch of small town politicians overstating their authority. They probably feel their jobs are in jeopardy, and want to remain in control of their little fiefdom.

This 'ordinance' will be thrown out in it's first court challenge.

It's good this happened, in a way. It makes people dust off their constitution and put it to work, for once in a blue moon. It might even spawn a constitutional lawyer or two.

Wow! That is totally insane. The ordinance clearly violates the first amendment. I wonder just how they expect to be able to enforce that. I'm not sure what the penalties for violating a town ordinance are actually. Would it be a fine or something like that? Clearly they can't put people in state prison for violating a town ordinance.

reply to post by dave0davidson

Wow! That is totally insane. The ordinance clearly violates the first amendment. I wonder just how they expect to be able to enforce that. I'm not sure what the penalties for violating a town ordinance are actually. Would it be a fine or something like that? Clearly they can't put people in state prison for violating a town ordinance.

Doesn't mater what the penalties might be. They can write them into the ordinance whatever they please. But re-read your second sentence, you'll see it doesn't matter.

But you are right on the money about the 1st Amendment. They clearly violate it. Star for you.

This thread should receive much more attention than it has. I flagged it. I can't believe this stuff is happening! I've been active in supporting Quartzsite, Arizona - including speaking directly with the Mayor. I've also been sending letters to Saratoga Springs, Utah where a Judge Stoney has been violating the Constitution for a very long time.

This thing in Gould, Arkansas is insane though!



Everyone should flag this thread and do what you can to bring attention to the town.

reply to post by EagleTalonZ


Thanks for posting that video, that seemed to be what the article I posted was transcribed from.

Here is a comment from the page I linked to in the OP.

I agree that the constitutional rights of the citizens are definitely at risk. But we can’t forget the reason why the ordinance was written in the first place. I am a member of Gould Citizens Advisory Council (GCAC) a group of concerned cit...izens that help deal with issues in the community. They have organized a Neighborhood Watch Program, City Beatification and have within it a Political Committee, Education Committee and Youth Program that stresses the importance of education and value in community awareness. The City Council’s issue with GCAC is that we believe in positive community involvement and organizing and not self absorbed issues. GCAC also works on the regional and state levels to help educate the citizens of the political process and get them more involved in the decisions that are made regarding the community. We went into a partnership with other community organizations and formed the Gould Resource Center. This center will offer computer labs, job readiness programs and houses the only library in the city. Members from GCAC and the community formed the Gould Tax Relief Fund to help raise money to help the City pay its delinquent taxes. This group raised $11,000 in three weeks and they walked in to the IRS office and handed them a check. The City Council’s intent in the ordinance was to stop GCAC from existing first, and then control any other groups from forming. GCAC wants to continue to help motivate and educate and help our community. We applaud the Mayor for not only standing up for us but for the community and our rights. The City Councils wanting to run GCAC out of town is the root to all this mess and the Community of Gould will fix it.

I looked for a way to contact that poster to see if they could bring their story here and post more information. I can't seem to find a way to contact them though.

Here is an updated story. Apparently the ordinance is a mistake, and was supposed to ban groups from meeting in a city owned building. We'll see how it pans out.

The Gould city motto is, "A City United For Change" but ordinances deemed unconstitutional by the Arkansas Municipal League are tearing the city apart.

"We've got people now that used to be close friends not speaking to each other. That's not right," said Gould City Council member Essie Cableton when asked about the ordinances.

"It's been a long week," said Gould Mayor Earnest Nash.

Bombarded with countless phone calls, Mayor Nash continues to fight against city ordinances - one stating people cannot discuss city business without council approval.

"This whole battle all boils down to our basic constitutional rights," said Mayor Nash.

Council Member Harry Hall says one ordinance should actually be written to ban groups from meeting in a city-owned community center because the city can't afford to pay the utilities for the building.

www.fox16.com...

Originally posted by jude11
For so long now, people have been supporting a non-violent approach to protesting the oncoming Police State. I have agreed with it 100%

This option will not be available soon as people feel more and more enslaved and powerless. It just seems that TPTB want violence to erupt in order to justify boots on the ground in America.

Unfortunately, it's going to happen just the way they want and it will then be a matter of time to see who comes out victorious.

People believe that no one wants violence and they truly believe that TPTB don't want it, but it's exactly what they want as it's exactly what is needed to carry out total domination of an entire Nation.

If it's not done, TPTB will win...If it is done, there's a chance TPTB will fall. Given the options, what will people choose?

edit on 18-7-2011 by jude11 because: (no reason given)

How Non-violence Protects the State


This video explains how a policy of nonviolent protest protects the state. It sights popular examples that people love to use in defense of nonviolent protests being effective, primarily ghandi and MLK, and dispels those myths explaining that resistance in both cases was a multifaceted effort that did indeed involve violence, and these people were given negotiating power because of the violent resistance. If there was no violent resistance, powers in control simply can ignore protesters, as they do now.

Originally posted by Fitch303
It's getting to the point where violence is one of the only options people have left. Violence is a universal language understood by all. the people of this town should exercise their right to peacefully assemble and their right to firearms outside each council members house as a friendly reminder.

Isn't that terrorism?? It certainly is intimidation and terrorising the democratically elected council. You just need to vote them out at the next election. Thats democracy.