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Criminalizing Trick-or-Treating or Signs of A Larger Problem?

I opened up my computer this morning to see a story about a new city ordinance that would prohibit children over the age of 12 from participating in any trick-or-treat activities this year.

This stopped me in my tracks as all I could think of was my teenage daughter who lives and breathes all things Halloween and trick-or-treat this time of year.

An epidemic of sick, disabled children reaching adulthood + an out-of-control, overreaching government = DISASTER.

I am SO “thankful” many of these ordinances allow parents to use their best judgment for their own families.

Say what? Do we need an ordinance for that?

In my quick internet search, I have found that many cities and police departments have similar ordinances. They state that their intentions are not to focus on non-disruptive behavior (in this case, an older special needs sibling spending time with their family), but let me point out a couple of things:

1. My disabled child is completely disruptive, and uneducated law enforcement is the source of major PTSD for her and me both (I wish I were being my normal sarcastic self in saying that).

2. Many of these ordinances do not align with the stated goal. Their INTENTIONS are meaningless when the code is written this way. If the intention is to stop pumpkin smashing (excuse my ignorant self but would that not already be covered under destruction of property?) why is the ordinance not written to reflect that intent? (Shout out to Belleville, Illinois, for including an exception for special needs individuals in their trick-or-treat city code – while we appreciate the thought, we still feel these decisions are best left to the parents).

Like vaccine choice, regardless of your feelings on whether 17-year-olds should be trick-or-treating, can we at least agree that maybe we should just keep that decision personal? I mean, if a well-mannered, neurotypical group of teens or comes to my house in good fun, who cares?

Why do certain individuals think they get to substitute THEIR judgement for MINE as a parent in the name of protecting MY kids?

Over the last few weeks, I have had many conversations with people on numerous topics who will seemingly agree with my message of individual freedom & personal responsibility, but will state, “Well I agree with you mostly, BUT ________.” There can be no conditional statement when it comes to protecting your rights from government overreach.

So, I ask you: What area of YOUR life do you believe the government is better equipped to manage than you are? Trick-or-treating? Education decisions for your children? Vaccination?

I urge you in the upcoming weeks to really think about who is fighting FOR you and who is fighting against you. There are NO “yeah BUTS” when your rights and freedoms are on the line!

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