The Commerce City Council may declare war on squirrels and other animal pests Monday night.
Among the items on a relatively short agenda for the 6:30 meeting in the Commerce Room of the Commerce Civic Center is action on a proposed ordinance under which city residents could buy a "animal pests."
If enacted - and no one expressed any opposition at the council's work session last Monday night - residents could apply to the police department for a $20 permit to shoot “animal pests” with firearms inside the city limits. The ordinance was drafted with squirrels in mind, as the rodents have become a nuisance in many parts of town. Presumably it could apply to other marauding animals as well.
The fee would cover the cost of fingerprint and background checks.
The ordinance was proposed by Ward 5 Councilman Richard Massey, who is recovering from a stroke.
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"(b) A person who causes bodily harm to or endangers the bodily safety of another person by consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his act or omission will cause harm or endanger the safety of the other person and the disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation is guilty of a misdemeanor." In other words Councilman Massey, there are a variety of charges that could be made if a person is injured or worse yet - killed, because of an ordinance that violates Georgia State Law. I don't know of any ordinance that supersedes our State Law. I for one would not want to deal with the consequences if I hurt another human being over a squirrel.
Anyone who acts as you describe is currently subject to arrest and will continue to be subject to arrest under this ordinance. While I'm not wild about it, I don't see the passage of this ordinance as a cause to outfit the family in Kevlar or hunker down in the basement.
Is there some requirement that people who respond to these articles be prone to hysteria? It sounds like some counseling is in order.
The City, or the person pulling the trigger, which you may never know who that person was. Once again "BAD IDEA"