Submitted by Harry Hipps II
Every day governments at every level make and change laws and statutes -- conditions change, ideas change, and/or circumstances change. God blessed America with the wisdom of the extraordinary men that created this exceptional country. Our Founding Fathers set us up with a constitutional framework dedicated to freedom from tyranny. Once we start to ignore our principles and ramrod things through by treating one person one way and someone else differently, then we are on the path to chaos.
Once this happens, we will see oppression of weaker, less powerful citizens by the richer, more connected ones; we will have mob rule; or both. We are seeing this happen almost routinely by the federal government and I fear we may be seeing this happen locally.
The City of Hickory certainly has the right to amend ordinances. If a moratorium on bars and nightclubs allows the city government and staff time to study any proposed changes to the code, then this is not unreasonable. Personally I do not see why we need a moratorium. The issue could be studied without the moratorium and changes could be submitted for consideration at any time.
The problem in this whole issue is the way the permit, that has been submitted by prospective club operators at the former Ferguson’s Plumbing, has been handled. As attorney Larry Johnson has stated, the permit process was initiated well before the moratorium was passed.
The city council and staff embarrassed themselves by not following proper procedures for notices on public hearings. They seem unwilling to grant or deny the permit under the law that was in effect at that time. One irony is that the Ferguson's Plumbing property is a suspected Brownfield property. I suppose the City did not care to inform the owner that grant money is available to evaluate the property, as they claim they are interested in doing in Hickory.
The real issue is “due process.” Laws are to be executed as they exist. They may have been different in the past, they may be different in the future, but the law today is the law of the land. To not follow the laws, because the Mayor, Council, or anyone else sees a result they deem undesirable, is just not acceptable.
Laws are not perfect. But, given the choice between living under imperfect laws or living under the whims and impulses of people who don't think they have to obey the law, I would certainly choose the former.
I don’t go to bars and will never set foot in this proposed nightclub. But, if we don’t speak up when other’s rights are trampled on, who will speak up for us when our rights are trampled on? Furthermore, do we really want to spend taxpayer dollars defending the indefensible? Are we a nation of laws or of men?
- Harry Hipps II
