Small town government can be the cruelest. With big government it is impersonal and uncaring, but when small town government overreaches you can’t help but wonder, is it simply good intentions gone bad or something else? Is that former best friend who is now on the town council serious about that change, “for the good of the community” or is it a way to destroy your business?
Does the new town marshal of Tombstone realize that when he is cracking down on the mayor’s demands about permits, costumes, and re-enactors and refusing to allow replica guns on the sidewalks of Tombstone, he could be breaking a state law? Is the Second Amendment being infringed upon by not allowing side arms to be worn in public, when Arizona has one of those laws allowing someone to go armed as long as they have a permit?
What about the First Amendment? Is denying the different groups of re-enactors the right to dress up in Tombstone a violation of their First Amendment rights? What about the innocent bystander who actually dresses that way?
Tombstone is in the Southwest. There are men — perfectly normal, well-employed, well-heeled men — who always dress like cowboys, complete with jeans, bandana, boots, buckle, hat and guns. In this country, as long as a person is not indecently exposed, are they not free to where what ever they want, where ever they want to wear it, even when it is in bad taste?
Then there is the closure of Fourth and Fifth Streets. At least one long-term resident of the community could be denied the right to park in front of his home. What about senior citizens who might live along those streets? If all parking is prohibited, how do they get to their homes?
There are laws requiring reasonable access for those needing special assistance and handicapped access. The very nature of the street closures, unless the current handicapped parking is maintained, is in violation of those laws.
The Six Gun City permit problem is interesting. Evidently new laws concerning construction were enacted during the construction process. Isn’t there a “grandfather clause” or should the owner not have been advised of those changes in a timely fashion?
Article comments
1 - Joanne Huspek
Your series was very interesting and brings a lot of questions to the fore. Thanks, SJ.