Having a law on the books doesn’t really matter much if that law isn’t enforced. The relationship between laws and enforcement currently is in the spotlight in several local issues.

The owner of a local sexual novelty story, Naughty But Nice, is daring local officials to make him move his business from its current location at 1741 Mass. In 2000, the City Commission approved regulations that, among other things, require sexually oriented businesses to be located along a state highway.

Any such business not located on a state highway was given five years to either change the nature of its business or move. That deadline arrives on July 31, but the owner of Naughty But Nice isn’t moving and says he’s ready to go to court to preserve the location of the business. “The burden of proof,” he said, “is on them to prove to me that they can force me to leave.”

The city currently is reviewing all businesses affected by the regulations and will decide what action to take. If the law is well-written, it should stand up in court. Not to call the owner’s bluff would set a bad precedent. He has been given sufficient time to adjust his business; the city has to enforce the law.

The recently passed smoking ordinance raises other enforcement questions. Initial efforts to enforce the ordinance that bans smoking in most public places were less than successful. A municipal court judge found a local bar owner innocent of four out of five charge charges related to the ban. The fifth was dropped after the owner appealed the decision to Douglas County District Court.

City commissioners now are considering revisions to the smoking ordinance that would spell out what business owners must do when they see someone smoking in their establishments. If the city is going to keep the ordinance on the books, the law must be enforceable.

The enforcement issue also may be raised as part of a fledgling petition drive seeking to overturn the July 4 fireworks ban. If the city can’t or won’t effectively enforce the fireworks ban, why have it? Local police report responding to almost 300 fireworks complaints over the recent holiday weekend, but only issued citations in about 50 cases. In the rest, they issued warnings, which seems pretty lenient considering the ban has been in place for three years now.

Judging by the fireworks being exploded throughout the city, it seems clear that many residents don’t take the law seriously. Perhaps this will change as time goes by, but it probably won’t happen if people aren’t convinced the fireworks ban is going to be enforced.

Maybe city commissioners should reconsider the ban. Maybe the inability to effectively enforce a fireworks ban should be part of that consideration. But if a law is going to stay on the books it’s only fair that it be enforced.

Sometimes, simple enforcement can eliminate the need for more drastic measures. If local police had more vigorously enforced speed limits and stop signs in some Lawrence neighborhoods, perhaps the need for expensive, passive traffic controls (i.e. speed bumps, roundabouts, traffic-calming circles) could have been avoided.

If a law can’t be or isn’t enforced, it isn’t much of a law.