These can be expected when litiguous Youth insist on exerciseing their
first
amendment
constitutional
rights
by wearing
stickers,
labels or pins that simply say
NO CURFEW
and congregating during curfew
hours.
(Lawsuits
will also arise when those over 18 are misapprehended.)
The
ACLU
and others have successfully
>overturned
Teenage
Curfews
in court,
unfortunately, the innocent Taxpayers will pay the
penalties.
Family Values
Once again the Government is usurping parental authority.
With this curfew, the goverment is assuming the
Father's
role of
leadership and discipline.
Additionally, it puts the reins of terror into the hands of children by
holding the parents responsible for the child's actions.
This is the same kind of value-free immorality that spawns adult communities, where elderly people hide from the sounds of laughing children, and grandparents are forbidden from overnight visits or foster care of their grandchildren.
How Ironic, after winning the cold war, step by step, our government is repeatedly
increasing its power, and crushing the institution of the family.
In Memory of those who have served their country!
Many have silently served our country, some have lost their lives, to protect our "way of life", that of
a FREE society.
Many, if not most of those who served in the military in recent conflicts were themselves teenagers.
As a
veteran,
I'm appalled that our servicemen might return home to be repeatedly "carded"
or face other challenges to their identity, just because they might look young, and are walking
around in their home town.
"Carding" anyone just because they are out at night is senseless harrassment.
The freedom to congregate at any time was won for us in part by our
teen veterans
who gave their
lives
in so many wars
stretching back in time to the
Revolution.
It should not be surrendered.
[Actually, Ordinance 98-28 mentions nothing about a warning, so the first offense could get you.]
The second offense gets a fine of up to $1000 and/or up to 90 days of community service for the parent and the youth to be served together.
Obviously, the first Warning gets recorded, presumably without a trial, putting you into a new "ready for punishment" class with only one additional offense necessary.
So one offense gets you a record without a trial ... hope you never need a security clearance,
you no longer have a clean record!
Tack on additional charges if something goes wrong during the arrest,
if you don't behave perfectly later in court and are found in contempt,
and you could really jeapordize your entire future.
And what happens to your siblings if you come from a single parent household
just trying to make ends meet, both due to loss of income for 90 days, and
loss of a parent ... just for trying to get out of the house for a spell!
Here's $1000, I think I'll throw it on the ground, no, I'll give it to the Township.
Any authority sponsoring a curfew calls into question their own competancy at performing even normal duties since it demonstrates such egregious lack of judgement to incurr the resentment of those whose freedom is to be curtailed upon those who must enforce it. If there were a need for such a draconian measure to be imposed upon an entire class, prudence would dictate choosing an alternate sponsor than the Police Chief.
Exploration of the cost/benefits through open
discussion
of any measure also suffers, or is stifled by the intimidation imposed by authoritarian sponsorship.
How effective can
D.A.R.E.
be in this situation?
What an inconsiderate position to put our Police & Emergency Response people in!
An unheard Cry for Help in the Darkness
Who are you going to call when you need help?
If you are out on the streets at night, you can't or don't want to call someone who
is now your warden.
When community leaders visit your school, you will be viewing them in a different
light, their helping hands are invisible in the curfew's shadow and their
smiling faces are hidden behind the curfew's veil.
You simply don't trust them.
Go back to the
BYRNE
homepage.
(last update 17 Dec 2022)
An online copy of "General Curfew" Ordinance 98-28
"About the Teenage Curfew dropped on Hillsborough, N.J." Copyright (c) 1998-7 by Byrne.
Permission is granted for use of this web-page in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes
as long as this Copyright notice and a link to this page is included.
Links to this web-page are welcome after e-mailing the author with the document URL where the link will appear.