Constitutional Rights And Property Ownership (interview, fence, cost, carry)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was watching the news last night and to my surprise in my state a man had been arrested and sentenced to some months in jail for exercising his property rights. From my understanding this man had no previous criminal history. However, two years ago he was cited for having numerous cars in his backyard. The man says he is a collector. His property intially had a six foot security fence around it, but currently it has a rather high brick wall around it. The cars were not in the plain view. He appears to have complied with the government's demands. The city's position is he did not comply soon enough and his property is still in violation. Despite a judges attempt to overturn the jail time the man is in jail and will now have a criminal record. Moreover, the city plans to file additional criminal charges eventhough the man has put his property up for sale and has vowed to leave the state forever. I think the city is overreaching in violation of fundamental individual liberties set and firmly established by the U. S. Constitution. I am out raged and wondering what the future holds for for home owners. It looks like the government holds ownership rights over common people property rights. I am a home owner, but do I really own my home? Is anybody else out there concerned about the loss of individual liberty that this great country stands for?
It is sort of scarry isn't it! I have to wonder what kinds of cars did he consider worth collecting. One man's pride may be his neighbors idea of a rusty junk yard.
It's not unusual for cities to make restrictions to prevent what some may consider eyesores. We had a case not too long ago, the owner insisted that he just wanted his yard to return to a natural state with wildlife. OK, that's fine. Except he had a very small yard and his idea of a natural state was just to let the weeds grow. And grow they did!! The neighbors wanted it cleaned up. It seems he also have piles of boxes and other junk that made his "wildlife" habitat home to rats. The City declared he was maintaining a nuisance, cleaned up the yard and put the cost on his next tax bill.
We may not know the whole story. For instance, where I live, you can only have 7 vehicles on your property. An eight one constitues a dealership and you had better be on commercial property and have a license.
You can not have more then one car that doesn't run.
There's other things that may play into this guys past that they're just not reporting, such as, had the police warned him about 15 times and he refused their warnings?
He could say he collects cars and they could say they was all wrecks.
I think there's probably more to this story, but the point about property rights is a good one. Consider the eminent domain decision recently. HOA's are becoming increasingly pushy et. I do think there has to be some standards so people can live together, but there are concerns.
...well there may be more to this story, but the fact of the matter is someone went to jail over an act that should not rise to threshold of criminal activity. The cars could not be an eye-soar if they were not in plain sight, but even if the the property owner is in the wrong-why does he have to go to jail? According to the news strory the man had removed some of the cars and had permission from the city to keep others. I think this matter is a civil issue not a criminal one. I agree with the poster who said impose fines if the man is breaking the law. The city could even impound the vehicles. I just don't think jail time was appropriate, but it says something about who we are in America and what we stand for. "Government by the people for the people" Who is governing? If we have restricted say so over the property we own...what's the point in owning property? If the government can limit a property owner's right of use then the people are not governing and government is not for the people. I don't want numerous cars in my backyard, but I want the right to use my land in the best way that suits my needs as long as there are no safety issues or harm to the masses.
I think this matter is a civil issue not a criminal one. I agree with the poster who said impose fines if the man is breaking the law. The city could even impound the vehicles. I just don't think jail time was appropriate, but it says something about who we are in America and what we stand for.
I tend to agree. As long as people allow this sort of roughshod treatment by local, city, state, federal government, then it will continue.
I am reminded by one of the people interviewed in the Michael Moore movie Sicko, that stated that the French (I believe it was the French, can't remember) government had a fear of its people because they would get out and protest and bring issues like these into public view at the drop of a hat. In comparison, Americans fear their government and the inverse occurs.
In my case, I think I am in violation of county ordinances because I don't have any vehicles up on blocks, refrigerators, washers, or dryers on the front porch. I do however have a hound or two under the porch so they may be letting me slide.
Last edited by TnHilltopper; 08-24-2007 at 04:23 PM..
Reason: additional text
Sun Queen (I like your screen name!) - do you have a link to an article?
I feel VERY strongly about property rights, much like you. I'd like to learn more about the property in question. That might give a clue as to the city's motivations for this.
We do need some sort of police re: property because you always have those who will abuse it. Such as the guy and the weeds/ rats. Some people would have that and more boxes of garbage and worse. For property owners that actually care about their property value rising have a vested interest in all neighbors keeping their home in a pride of ownership kind of way. Then again there is a line that can be crossed by the governing authority and if they are in the least bit power hungry it can become a pain.
You NEVER own land in America. If you think you do, stop paying your property taxes to the government and find out who really owns your land.
ABOLISH Property Taxes and replace it with Income and Sales Taxes!!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
