Arkansas town in Matrial Law?

Go home or go to jail! Those are the only two options for people living in one Mid-South neighborhood. The mayor of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas has issued a mandatory curfew. the curfew is in place for an area he refers to as a "hot spot" for crime. It applies to anyone, any age, and any time of day.

www.myeyewitnessnews.com...


It looks and sounds a whole lot like martial law to me. I might have to take my camera over there and get some footage.

[edit on [1Aug2]023131p: by hippy2012]

[edit on [1Aug2]023131p: by hippy2012]

[edit on [1Aug2]023131p: by hippy2012]

Does anyone else think that this is in violation of the 1st and 4th Amendments?
I know that the crime is very bad there but I don't believe this is right at all, there must be another way to solve the problem of crime other than a police lock down

What is the legal basis for issuing curfews, if any? To bad no one will take the mayor to court to judge the legality of this "order." Here in California we hear more "mandatory evacuation orders" being issued by the local politicoes when these brush fires flare up during fire season. Yet they don't go after the many who ignore these 'orders' and stay put, probably because they know charges would not be upheld by a court.

reply to post by starviego

The ACLU has sent a letter to the mayor claiming his curfew is a violation of the 1st, 4th and 14th amendments.

I guess that is all that is challenging the mayor as of right now.

Well - I wouldn't put up with that BS, but I don't have to live there.

Sounds like they need to hire some cops that are not pussies and put them out there to do their jobs and take the thugs off the street.

Originally posted by hippy2012
Does anyone else think that this is in violation of the 1st and 4th Amendments?

I think the Mayor does...

"Now if somebody wants to sue us, they have an option to sue, but I'm fairly certain that a judge will see it the way the way the citizens see it here," Mayor James Valley said. "The citizens deserve peace, that some infringement on constitutional rights is OK and we have not violated anything as far as the Constitution."

Yahoo

And what exactly does he mean by "some infringement on constitutional rights is OK", but they haven't violated the Constitution?

I guess this warrants "curfews" if violence is deemed to high anywhere in the US. I hope violence decreases over there in the future sometime soon...

[edit on 13/8/08 by NuclearPaul]

reply to post by NuclearPaul


I can't read his mind (I sometimes have trouble reading my own!), but he *might* mean that there is (obviously) infringement of certain constitutional rights, in that those rights are being restricted, or encroached upon, but no actual *denial* of those rights. The city isn't telling anyone that they can't assemble, just that they can't assemble in this spot at this time. I'm not saying that I *agree* with his thinking, but it's not as convoluted as it might seem.

I remember, a town in I think Arizona - required every citizen to purchase and carry their weapons -- I think they have a Zero Crime Rate.

I suspect Curfews are used more often than people suspect. I lived in Monte Vista, CO in the 1970s and we used to have an 11 pm curfew for /everyone/. There was a lot of violence at the time, two large gangs at war, and something about the Chicano movement, but to be honest, I was young, I'd have to research it. And I remember that Los Angeles had a sort of curfew once upon a time, you couldn't 'drag main' so to speak. If you were suspected of just driving around, hanging out in certain popular areas, you could be pulled over and cited.

But even now, the community I live in has all sorts of curfews for children under 18. I know some might say that they aren't adults, so don't count somehow, but when I grew up I don't ever remember there being, just in general, curfews in regards to underage residents.

I'm just wondering, these people have jobs to go to right? so, they have to go out to get to their jobs, right?? are they being arrested for going to work??

what if they have no food in the house, are they being arrested for going to the store to buy their babies milk?

is this just a new and better way to commit genocide against the poor?

I really Love this quote.
Mayor Valley said, "This turf belongs to taxpaying citizens, not to hustlers and drug dealers...We are going to pop them in the head."

Sounds a bit like execution style slaying threats.