Anti-fliering update
Joe Courter
November/December 1996

The quest to decriminalize fliering in Gainesville continues after an initial vote to do away with the antifliering ordinace failed 2-2 when it was presented to the City Commission last month. Another meeting with the Public Safety Committee will take place on November 14 at 9:00 am at City Hall, and probably another approach to the full commission takes place in December.

Commissioners Bruce Delaney and Sande Calkins voted to overturn the ordinance which makes fliering illegal and punishable by a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. Commissioner Pegeen Hanrahan voted against overturning the ordinance, for what appear to be city beautification reasons, but fliering is illegal now and unless they want to double the size of the police force and build another jail, fliering will continue at its current rate, with selective enforcement against those the police choose to arrest. Commissioner Ed Jennings raised some good points against the idea of a fliering zone near campus as discriminatory to residents elsewhere in town. He voted with Hanrahan, but may be convinced to swing around against the ordinance. Commissioner Paula Delaney was not present at the meeting.

More work will be done to get people out to the next meeting, by way of using the petitions, so if you signed one, be aware we will need your support in the near future, or volunteer now to help in the struggle to not have to flier with the threat of arrest hanging over you. Call the CMC at 373-0010.

Its just amazing that the same people that can get so bent out of shape about fliers on poles can blithely put forth a plan for a fourstory apartment/mall with a drive through Burger King immediately northeast of the historic Hippodrome Theater downtown.

There's way too music and stuff happening in town for the skimpy coverage of our corporate daily, and the everchanging splashes of fliers reflect the vibrant arts and culture of Gainesville. So long as corporations can buy the billboards, and developers tear down old houses for profit-driven monstrosities, there will be fliers and flierers won't be the real criminals.

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