Letters to the editor, May 2, 2008

Illusion of fairness with rental ordinance

One point that Jeanette Hayhurst made in a recent Redevelopment Agency meeting got me to sit up and take notice. She was describing how an ordinance will result in forced inspections for every rental property in Barstow. They wrote this into the ordinance because its only fair to strip every renter of their Fourth Amendment rights as opposed to targeting a few bad apples.

This little bit of nice-sounding words got me fired up because in all a reality this ordinance is anything but fair. There has been a bit of talk about the class system in America in this paper and this ordinance will codify an unfair, un-American, class system in Barstow.

One class will be renters who will have no right for the “people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects.” That quote is from the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Everyone involved should Google it. Another part of the amendment points to another problem with the ordinance: “no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” What this fundamentally means that if the government wants to search or inspect your house they have to provided evidence (probable cause) to a judge that illegal activity is going on and get a warrant. Under this ordinance if you refuse to have your place inspected it could result in the city getting a warrant to search your property without any probable cause. The end result is that renters who want to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights are considered less than a common criminal. How is that for fairness?

Now when I read the ordinance again I realized the class that will get the worst end of the stick are the landlords. The landlords will not only have their Fourth Amendment rights stripped every two years but they will have to pay for the privilege. Furthermore, in a really nasty bit of business, the ordinance will make the landlord legally responsible for the bad actions of their tenants. Also the landlords will be press-ganged into being the police for the ordinance. If a tenant refuses an inspection the landlord will be asked to force the tenant to comply. How is that for fairness?

Now the class that is golden are the home owners. Your Fourth Amendment rights are still secure. Unless, of course, the people that wrote this odious ordinance decide that is convenient, and fair, for the city to take your Fourth Amendment rights away.

Steven Smith
Barstow

Coyotes shouldn't be killed for eating tortoises to survive

So the coyotes are killing the tortoises. Don’t blame them for merely doing what it takes to survive. Did anyone take this possibility into account when planning the relocation? Were the tortoises being killed before the relocation? If so, what is the ratio between before and after the relocation? Are they truly any safer now?

If we can relocate the tortoises, why can’t we relocate the coyotes? Killing them seems wrong when all they are trying to do is survive. Try to come up with a plan to save both. Remember, it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.

Antoinette Holmeyer
Barstow