Metal detecting banned in Louisville parks!

[Goodyguy]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You may be interested and concerned that the city of Louisville, KY Metro Parks Dept. has established a policy banning metal detecting in all 122 public parks. This move will will severely hamper tourism by metal detecting enthusiasts and any attempts for selling metal detectors to detecting hobbyists here in our city.

Our Mayor's name is Jerry Abramson and his email is:
http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Mayor/contactusmayor.htm

His contact number is (502)-574-2003

Even if you are not from Kentucky please add your voice to our attempt to have this policy reversed. Let him know that because of that policy you will take your tourism dollars to a more recreation friendlier town.

Guess we will see if anyone cares enough about our hobby to even try to save it for future generations.

Remember your town could be next so lets try and stop it here first.

Thanks,
Buddy~

 

[mark.]

I just sent the mayor a email requesting a reversal in policy.

Hope he listens............see ya mark

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Goodguy, do you know the evolution of how this policy even got thought of, or started, to begin with? Of course, the obvious knee-jerk reaction is that someone was leaving holes, or aggrevating archies by snooping around obvious archaeological sites. But I sometimes wonder if that's not the case, and it's more a case of this:

Cautious newbies hop on internet forums, and invariably read some isolated incidents of hassles with laws, or something at the state/fed level, which has nothing to do with city or county parks/schools. But nonetheless, they get cautious thinking "it doesn't hurt to ask", so they go to city hall, wherever they happen to live, and start asking "permission" to hunt in the parks or schools. What's odd is that quite often, there may be absolutely nothing specifically addressing the issue of detecting (as was apparently the case in this Louisville situation?). But here you are, asking some deskbound bureaucrat, and what do you think his easy answer is going to be? I mean, afterall, their image is probably geeks with shovels And before you know it, someone invents a rule to "address your pressing issue" :P Ie.: it merely becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, that you merely imply something is wrong with you, or your hobby, that you had to ask, to begin with When odds are, you'd probably have been ignored or un-noticed. It's like the old saying "sometimes no one cares UNTIL you ask"

I know this doesn't do you any good in Louisville now, as apparently it's already past-tense I just hope when more and more of these incidents get posted, that it doesn't cause more and more newbies to run out and start asking questions of bored cops, overzealous city desk clerks, etc... and getting "no's" where no one ever really gave it thought in those locales.

For example, in my city, we detect parks and schools all the time. Since the dawn of detecting in the 1960s/70s, it never even occured to anyone there might be a problem at public parks or school (I mean, they're 'public', right?). There's never been a problem and no rules that I know of. But then one day a newbie to our city takes it upon himself to go to city hall and ask "permission" to hunt the parks. He was probably taking his clues from the then-newly-formed FMDAC, and their scary newsletters, etc... Who knows, maybe he did something stupid like show up with a shovel in his hand? They told him "no"! Imagine the rest of us oldtimer's surprise when this newbie told the rest of us at the monthly club meeting that detecting wasn't allowed in the parks here. Hmm, that was news to us! No one's ever said anything to us! That was almost 20 yrs. ago, and to this day, you can still detect the parks and schools here and not be bothered. But I gaurantee you that that would probably change, if ...... over the course of a year ...... they got a person or two per month showing up at park dept. headquarters or city hall, asking if it was ok. I bet someone would eventually make a rule, or only THEN start noticing md'rs (whom they previously would never have noticed). You know, like ....."aha, there's one of THEM", and all of the sudden start booting people.

Yeah I know, it's a maddening circle: how is a person supposed to know if a rule exists, UNLESS they ask? doh! Here's the way: Don't approach it in the context of "permission" to begin with. That just puts someone in the position of saying "no, simply because I said so", when in fact, no rule might've existed. Instead, look it up yourself. If it is silent on the issue, then go. Park and school rules are usually printed on a sign at the entrance, or available on brochures and the entrance kiosk, or on city websites, etc..... Do a key-word search on metal detecting or whatever. If nothing pops up, then what's the problem?

 

[Goodyguy]

It has never been an issue in Louisville either, since detectors were first invented until now. One day it just changed without warning.

No one to my knowledge has ever asked for permission.

But last year people with detectors started being run out of city parks and given no particular reason for their removal.
It was because of that action that questions of legality arose and city hall was asked to produce proof of a no metal detecting in city parks law. After the city could not produce such a law. The city council met and has now adopted a statute that prohibits such activity in city parks.

It so far has not been written into law but soon will be when legislature reconvenes.

That is why we need all the emails and phone calls to the Mayor who has the authority to recend the statute.
Thus preventing it to becoming law.

This arbitrary discrimination of our hobby could happen anywhere any time. Your town could be next. So please help us end it here.

 

[Goodyguy]

I just sent the mayor a email requesting a reversal in policy.

Hope he listens............see ya mark

Thank you very much Mark, I know this takes most people out of their comfort zone to actually do something that requires some effort on their part. It is much easier to sit back and just hope someone else will do it.

Your willingness to act on this important issue is greatly appreciated and admired.

Sincerely,
Buddy~