Louisiana parish reconsiders ban on soothsaying

Nice to see that our governing authorities are finally dealing with some important issues. This is quite progressive for Livingston parish.


http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/14303657.html


LIVINGSTON — The Livingston Parish Council called Thursday night for a public hearing on repealing its soothsaying ordinance.

The council also unanimously named Jimmie McCoy as council chairman for 2008 and discussed the practice of taking private gravel roads into the parish system, then paying to blacktop those roads.

Council attorney Blayne Honeycutt recommended the council repeal the parish‘s fortunetelling ordinance, which has been challenged in federal court by a Wiccan minister.

Fortunetelling has been a “nonissue” in the parish, Honeycutt said in recommending the ordinance’s repeal.

Councilman Randy Rushing, who said the ordinance is “not going to hold up” in court, made the motion to hold a hearing on the proposal to repeal the ordinance, which the council enacted last year.

Rushing’s proposal was approved on a 5-2 vote, with Eddie Wagner and Thomas Watson voting against introduction of the change.
The public hearing will be held during the council’s next meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 11.

In voting on officers for the new year, the council chose McCoy, a Watson resident who is beginning his second term in office, as its new chairman.

He succeeds Albert “Buddy” Mincey, who was unanimously elected as vice chairman for 2008.

This is a good ruling, IMO, regardless of my personal opinion on such things, which I, by necessity, generally keep to myself.

the ban was ever passed in the first place.

The reason behind such rulings, usually, is to prevent people from being scammed by bunco artists who use soothsaying as a way to get deep into the lives and wallets of potential victims.