# Here we go again... Halloween Decor Ordinance



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I follow Dave Lowe's work frequently, he does some pretty cool stuff. Today this depressing post popped up in my news reader:

http://davelowe.blogspot.com/2011/04/halloween-might-really-suck-this-year.html

The gist of it is that there's a motion on the floor in his town to regulate Halloween decorating and trick-or-treating.










Can they even do that?! Well the trick-or-treating maybe... But decorating your own house on your own property. Can they really pass an ordinance that says what you can and can't do or show in your own private property?! What's the point of owning again?










NOTE: I'm HOPING this is just a 4/1 prank but I got a bad feeling...


----------



## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Tell me this is an April Fool's joke, especially since valleyglenherald.org doesn't exist:jol:.


----------



## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)

RoxyBlue said:


> Tell me this is an April Fool's joke, especially since valleyglenherald.org doesn't exist:jol:.


maybe I've had too much to drink but I thought it said "valleyglenherald.og".


----------



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Good catch Roxy... BRB... Gonna run to the bathroom and wash the sweat from my brow.

Wow, I been catching 4/1 prank posts all day... This is the first one I very well nearly fell for. Shows ya my passion for Halloween can often exceed my frame of rational thought.

@Haunti: It DID! (erm still DOES) but neither come up. Heck I don't think .OG is even a valid TLD.


----------



## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

So this was PRANK?? I just spent the last 1/2 hour writing a HUGE Rant about this.... Perhaps one or two of you got to read it before I quickly Edited my thoughts.


----------



## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I figured ".og" was a typo - or more of the pranking


----------



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

@nib: that's about how I felt... First 4/1 prank I fell for today and I saw a LOT of em too. I launched into this whole political slant on civil liberties on twitter over this.


----------



## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Lets hope it is indeed a prank and not the start of a wave of censoring. Personally, my town has a city ordinance that specifically states Holiday decorations are not regulated in any way, as long as you are safe about them, you know like GFCI protection and 2 feet from the sidewalk. 

Luckily, I am also on the board of zoning appeals so if that goes to change at all, I will be first to know and rant about it


----------



## FRIGHTGUY (Sep 1, 2010)

That would be utterly ridiculous if it were real. Sadly there are people out there that actually think like that. Those kind of people sadden me.


----------



## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Freedom of religion would cover anything on my lawn. I worship skelemingos. F off, government.


----------



## AzKittie74 (Aug 10, 2007)

Let's hope this joke didn't spark an idea in some bored person's mind who might want to Make it a reality!!


----------



## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

I just thought it was your typical nut-job of which there are many out there.

Didn't really look at it all that well. Good catch, Roxy.


What is really sad, is that there are people out there who think that way. I was in a store and there was a mom there who wouldn't let her kid get a mask because it was, "devilish". I have also heard a religious nut on the radio talk about how dangerous Halloween decorations are and that people don't realize it. I guess it will call demons to your yard or something. I wasn't clear on what was dangerous about a jack-o-lantern but I am sure somebody got scared by his rant.


----------



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

This is pretty much a prank. Did some research for giggles. Here's what I found:

1. The clipping in the screenshot points to a website called valleyglenherald.og. There's no TLD .og domain and presumed typo for .org but tried both anyways. Both are non-existent.

2. By federal law, local law can NOT pass laws dictating what can and can't be displayed on your property. They can give you a hard time. But in the end they can't legally enforce it or make you have a permit unless you're charging people to come on to your property which is a whole different matter. Now what wasn't clear is if we were talking Home Owner Association who CAN enforce such craziness and why I will never live in such a neighborhood. But the local government can NOT pass laws to do this.

3. There IS a Valley Glen website and the logo in the upper left IS legit - http://www.valleyglen.org however no such article exists anywhere I could find on the site.

Everything points to this being a 4/1 prank. Just waiting for Dave to spill the beans.


----------



## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

There's a spelling error as well.

Prank.


----------



## Plastic Ninja (Sep 30, 2010)

If that where real, it would be infringing on our rights. If people can protest on the funerals of fallen soldiers then you should have the right to have fake skeletons in your yard.


----------



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

It says "winter 2011" why would the winter addition for this year come out BEFORE the summer?? Perhaps different areas do news letters different but here winter is dubbed the year when that winter starts, not ends. It may carry on to the next year but it's still the same season. A news letter that was sent describing the entire season may perhaps have "Winter 2010-2011" but by the time late march hits and April any news letters, news papers, or other such things would bare "Spring" in their title and not "winter"

Prank for sure


----------



## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Everyone is doing research to see if this was a prank which we are pretty sure that it is..... BUT... What if this was real??? It's Not beyond the scope of some of our states to do this, in fact some already have to some degree or another.

All I can say is that I'm glad that I quickly edited my first post which was longer than a novel. I'm guessing that only the moderators saw what I wrote. I was PISSED!!

There is something fundamentally wrong with our country and we will be seeing some serious consequences from our corporocracy (Not democracy) in the next 50 years. The future does NOT look bright unless we commoners can get some unity. Unity is unlikely since there is already such serious decention between Republicans and Democrats. The people that run the country (Not our Government) like it that way. It's like a magic trick..... Keep em watching the left hand while the right hand does the dirty work.

"in Wal Mart we trust??"

The Funny thing is... that corporate America LIKES halloween. It means "Dollars"... I'm more concerned about the other big influence to our country and it's representitives. The Religious right..... Nothing scares me more. Few things could tear our country apart faster than the religious right getting thier noses into our business more than they already have. They are Here, and Unless we have a major awakening as a country, they are here to stay.


----------



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I've heard around that other towns have decorating ordinances dictating when and how you can decorate and in some cases requiring permits to decorate. But I'm wondering if its just not just an urban legend. I did some basic digging on the web and I've been unable to find anything concrete. No reference to actual town/state statutes or ordinances. Heck you would think that if such laws actually existed someone somewhere would be complaining about it online in a forum with actual links to the government website pages that contain such statutes. None of which I could find with a cursory Google search.

I would think such a local law would be highly unconstitutional - privately owned property, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and all that good stuff.


----------



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Terrormaster said:


> I've heard around that other towns have decorating ordinances dictating when and how you can decorate and in some cases requiring permits to decorate. But I'm wondering if its just not just an urban legend. I did some basic digging on the web and I've been unable to find anything concrete. No reference to actual town/state statutes or ordinances. Heck you would think that if such laws actually existed someone somewhere would be complaining about it online in a forum with actual links to the government website pages that contain such statutes. None of which I could find with a cursory Google search.
> 
> I would think such a local law would be highly unconstitutional - privately owned property, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and all that good stuff.


yes, I agree with you of course, but I'm sure the way such a group would get away with such laws would be to say private means no one else can see it, in the same sense as if you have a well fenced backyard you can wander around butt naked to your hearts content, but wander around your front yard butt naked where the whole neighborhood can see you and people will complain, but hey, it's private property and you can by law do anything legal on your own land you want.


----------



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

When Googling for: ordinance "holiday decor"

The most I could find were ordinances dictating when (but not WHAT) decor (any holiday) can be put up. Typically 45-60 days before or after for major holidays like Halloween and Christmas and short as 1-2 weeks before and after for minor holidays.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-18-holiday-decorations_N.htm

But I've gone through 5 pages of results on that Google query and haven't found anything that imposes WHAT one can display. There was this one ordinance being proposed that forbids decor from being strung across sidewalks and streets between houses. But that one makes perfect sense. Sidewalks and streets belong to the city. Not only that but its a potential safety hazard to pedestrians and motorist going underneath.

However that's the extent of my findings at this point.

But I digress... Even the timeframes are ridiculous. If I want my house, which I own and pay taxes on, to look like a haunted house year round, that's my business as long as it doesn't pose a safety risk to anyone it should be fine. If I were a Christmas freak and wanted to paint my house red and white and make it look like the north pole year long that's my business too. What if I were an extravagant artist and decided to paint my house this crazy combination of colors. Despite being an eyesore to neighbors it's my house and my right.

@GC: going nude, now that's indecent exposure on or off of your property for the most part. Then again it's still questionable, where does the line get drawn? What if I don't have curtains in any window of my house and I liked to walk about naked day and night. Can I be fined for indecent exposure inside my own house because the mailman saw me nude while dropping off the mail and was offended? Can they make me hang curtains or wear clothes thus telling me what I can and can't do INSIDE MY house?


----------



## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)

Terrormaster said:


> @GC: going nude, now that's indecent exposure on or off of your property for the most part. Then again it's still questionable, where does the line get drawn? What if I don't have curtains in any window of my house and I liked to walk about naked day and night. Can I be fined for indecent exposure inside my own house because the mailman saw me nude while dropping off the mail and was offended? Can they make me hang curtains or wear clothes thus telling me what I can and can't do INSIDE MY house?


Police entered Naked Guy's house with no warrant, guns drawn


----------



## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

that's messed up.


----------



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

@Haunti: Ok that is just ridiculous! In his own home?! So if I get out my shower and walk naked to my bedroom but the window happened to be open I'm suddenly a flasher?! One commenter said it best:



> Previous news stories reported that the 7 year old child is a boy. The stories also reported that Erick Williamson was not "aroused" when he was visible to the two women and the boy.
> 
> If Erick Williamson were changing in the locker room at the public pool and the 7 year old boy walked by and saw him nude, would that be indecent exposure?


So we get more liberties in a public locker than in the confines of our own homes?! Lines people... LINES! Where does it get drawn. Well so much for our civil liberties eh?

Back on topic: David Lowe has confessed to the OP being a 4/1 prank so we can all relax on that one. But this does act as an eye opener for sure.


----------



## Hauntiholik (May 17, 2006)




----------



## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Good one by Dave...I was surprised that he was surprised by the comments.


----------



## morbidmike (Sep 11, 2009)

they need to regulate some people ......like people with a hearse and skeleton horse in their front yard ,,,or with a zombie wielding a gatlin gun......those people are freaks and should be sternly talked to......the nerv of some people golly gee


----------



## Palehorse (Aug 5, 2009)

*unconstitutional??*

Heck thats like a daily thing for this government. Far left and far right just need to stay in their houses. If your way of life is so good, keep it to yourself. Stop forcing your crap on everyone else! I currently have a HOA up my butt, makes me sick!


----------



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Terrormaster said:


> @GC: going nude, now that's indecent exposure on or off of your property for the most part. Then again it's still questionable, where does the line get drawn? What if I don't have curtains in any window of my house and I liked to walk about naked day and night. Can I be fined for indecent exposure inside my own house because the mailman saw me nude while dropping off the mail and was offended? Can they make me hang curtains or wear clothes thus telling me what I can and can't do INSIDE MY house?


According to my local area's law it is completely legal for both men and women to go topless in public, but to go bottomless as well the person must be under the age of 5 (because of the need for diaper changes but the law doesn't actually specify that) Now granted, most people of all ages keep their clothes on in public around here except for certain hippie-ish events. Sometimes though, well....peopleofwalmart.com shows that you can be fully clothed and still be...whatever the word is...

Yay that it's a prank, but it does bring up some interesting conversation..lol


----------



## HauntCast (Jul 25, 2008)

I would bet money that in the future this will happen for real. Just because something is unconstitutional doesn't mean that it can't get passed into law. It would then have to be overturn by a higher court.


----------



## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

I attend a hippie-ish event every July. I don't consider my self one. It is at a clothing optional camp ground. Sorry, my clothes stay on. Beside, I go because I work there main stage during a festival.


----------



## Rahnefan (May 1, 2009)

There are no surprises. If you can imagine it, it either already happened or is likely to happen.


----------



## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

Terrormaster said:


> This is pretty much a prank. Did some research for giggles. Here's what I found:
> 
> 1. The clipping in the screenshot points to a website called valleyglenherald.og. There's no TLD .og domain and presumed typo for .org but tried both anyways. Both are non-existent.
> 
> ...


Its annoying to hear all this HOA hatred. It is unfounded. I live in a neighborhood with an HOA and the only grief I have ever gotten from them was when I failed to use a favored prop from the year before. I got some serious grief. I quickly put it on display to prevent a riot. Not all HOAs are a group of old biddies.


----------

