Common Law

"We the People are the rightful master of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Abraham Lincoln


One of the big concepts of history is the transition of England from a land of Kings to the land of common law, where all men had rights to property, and other freedoms, regardless of the priviledge of birth.

Thus, the notion that all men should be treated equally before the law is the first building block of American democracy. Yet, this building block is not to be taken for granted, but must be fought for every step of the way. At the very beginning of American history, women and slaves were not considered citizens, but rather property. That was changed.

In a world of laws, a citizen can come before his government and inquire about the status of the law and be given a uniform response, not a special ordinance legislated because of who he knows or what his pedigree is.

So-----

It was a little stunning the other night when the Evansville Planning Commission discussed uniform processes for evaluation of "impact" on the taxpayer from proposed annexation. The Planning Commission also discussed making a draft of an ordinance that would establish the requirement that a "traffic impact analysis" be done BEFORE and not AFTER a development proposal is approved.

The Planning Commission also began discussion with a lighting ordinance specialist that would establish an ordinance that would regulate light in the city, especially in the commercial and downtown area. This arose out of the Big box ordinance development, which the Observer had the pleasure of sitting in on.

Some see the uniform administration of laws as a threat. Those folks are called Kings. Regular citizens appreciate laws being enforced in a uniform manner.

That's how I see it.