Questions I did not get to ask

There was a citizen's forum on our "right to dissent" on September 27, 2007. In some ways it was really good, but I was handed the microphone just before they stop taking questions.

So, below are some of the questions and comments I would have made, given a chance.

Chief Hogan: Why does it take so long to address an issue that a citizen raises? I raised an issue from an incident I saw at Bele Chere, and have been requesting a meeting for six weeks now.

Why is it legal to hold a sign one day but not the next?

Which of the following would be allowed at a public rally and which would be outlawed as a possible weapon: a two foot long wooden stake with a pointed end, ½ inch thick – or a three foot long metal stake that is 1/8 inch thick – and why? The ACLU says you cannot discriminate on the basis of what the attached signs say, but it seems to me that is exactly what APD did (back in March 2005).

Sheriff Duncan: Why isn’t the deputy who broke into the Kuhn’s home under arrest?

Mr. Oast is the Asheville City Attorney.

Oast: Why does Asheville require a building safety permit for “structures” at a rally in 2007 but not in 2003-2006? The “structure” were portable tables and small tents.

Why does Asheville Park & Recs keep telling me that I need a permit to hold a prayer vigil at Pritchard Park?

Why do we now need an “open flame permit” (from Asheville Fire Department) that costs $25 to have candle luminaries at Pritchard Park in September 2007 but not in August 2007?

I have found the restrictions, fees, regulations from several departments in Asheville Government, to be confusing, obscure, restrictive and sometimes nonsensical. An example of “nonsensical” was the requirement to give directions and map to Asheville Fire Department to get from the fire station downtown to City Hall as part of our required paperwork for the last Peace rally.

Also, I want to tell Chief Hogan and Sheriff Duncan that there are "misperceptions" going on in Asheville, but it is not the citizen's misperceptions that are a problem - it is the misperceptions of the Asheville Police and Buncombe County Sheriff's office that are the problem.