Do I understand, members of City Council, that when state laws are enacted, Ohio cities must, in all
instances, honor them? [S-T, June 3, "BG Gun Ordinance," page 1]
If the Ohio legislature enacts a law promoted by, say, the Oil & Gas Lobby [instead of the Gun
Lobby], mandating that exploratory fracking and drilling wells be immediately drilled in all Ohio city
parks, Council would draw up such an ordinance for Bowling Green?
Or if the state passed a law promoted by the Motorcycle Club Lobby, allowing biker gangs to ride through
city parks, Council would go along with that? Or if the Nudist Lobby got the state to allow us all to
run naked in the city park? Or the Twinkies Lobby, requiring that Twinkies be sold in the park?
Sometimes we don’t have to jump to the tune of the state. Just as states don’t always have to jump to the
tune of federal laws.
Maybe Council can take a page from the Declaration of Independence, and heed, if not the letter, at least
the spirit of the statement [brackets mine]:
"… governments [and laws made by governments] are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed, That whenever any government [law] becomes destructive of these ends,
it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it …"
City Council needs to do a little out of the box thinking to circumvent unreasonable state laws.
Sally Medbourn Mott
Bowling Green