To the editor:

What will “progressive” Lawrence think of next? Because there are some problems in enforcement of the current smoking ordinance, some folks propose that business owners be considered “guilty until proven innocent” if they are accused of allowing someone to smoke in their establishment or not acting aggressively to stop the offending patron.

Let’s not stop there. We should have the police ticket all pet walkers for failing to clean up after their pets. They would be considered guilty of violating the city ordinance, unless they could prove that they did clean up after their pet. If there is a complaint about fireworks violations, we should ticket the whole neighborhood. Since it is usually difficult to prove who exactly was violating the city ordinance, they should all be considered guilty until they can prove that they were not involved.

We don’t need meter readers anymore. We should ticket anyone who parks downtown and make them prove that they fed the meter and did not stay over the meter time. When it snows, the mayor can ticket everyone with a sidewalk and have them prove that they shoveled it within the prescribed time frame or pay a fine.

What great legal mind came up with this idea? What is the City Commission even doing considering this idea? There may be difficulties with the current city ordinance against smoking, but this is an idea that the city should have rejected without any need for further consideration. Or is the new slogan for Lawrence: “Welcome to the Totalitarian City”?

Ken Meyer,

Lawrence