Tom_in_CA
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- Mar 23, 2007
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Seamus, thanx for the clarification that it's for: "If you go into the parks deparment [asking] ..." For starters, asking might infer that something is inherently wrong, that you had to ask, to begin with. And yeah, I suppose that if they said "no", you could say "show me that in writing". But here's where you are legally lacking: The person at the counter can actually (yes, legally they can do this), morph something that seems un-related, and STILL say "no". Like, they can say "because we think it damages the grass" or "because you need a parade permit", or "because you might find valuables that belong, technically, to the city". And believe me, you WILL loose that debate.
I too thought like you did, when I got booted once. When I asked "why?", he just said "because you shouldn't do that, blah blah", but could provide no actual rule. I left, but later, took the issue to an attorney. I asked "can someone like this just arbitrarily say "stop doing such & such", simply because they said so? Doesn't it have to be in writing somewhere? I mean, what's to stop this same person from telling someone "stop wearing that pink shirt, because I think it harms the drinking fountain?" The answer the lawyer gave me still rings true: "government appointed rep's (cops, rangers, gardeners, and whomever) are given latitude in interpretting and applying the existing laws/rules, to fit each situation, and the higher powers will usually always side with them". For example: If a rule says "no dog walking", someone might walk their dog there, and defy a ranger by saying "but sir, I wasn't actually walking my dog, since he only has 3 legs, he hops, not walks", blah blah blah. Or a nudity ordinance: "but sir, I had my socks on, so technically I wasn't nude", blah blah blah.
You can try the line, but just be aware, that it could back-fire and result in a rule being written to address your objection :P
I too thought like you did, when I got booted once. When I asked "why?", he just said "because you shouldn't do that, blah blah", but could provide no actual rule. I left, but later, took the issue to an attorney. I asked "can someone like this just arbitrarily say "stop doing such & such", simply because they said so? Doesn't it have to be in writing somewhere? I mean, what's to stop this same person from telling someone "stop wearing that pink shirt, because I think it harms the drinking fountain?" The answer the lawyer gave me still rings true: "government appointed rep's (cops, rangers, gardeners, and whomever) are given latitude in interpretting and applying the existing laws/rules, to fit each situation, and the higher powers will usually always side with them". For example: If a rule says "no dog walking", someone might walk their dog there, and defy a ranger by saying "but sir, I wasn't actually walking my dog, since he only has 3 legs, he hops, not walks", blah blah blah. Or a nudity ordinance: "but sir, I had my socks on, so technically I wasn't nude", blah blah blah.
You can try the line, but just be aware, that it could back-fire and result in a rule being written to address your objection :P