On Sept. 5, I read an Opinion, titled “Dover City Hall is the citizens’ house,” by William Faust.
I respectfully agree with the writer’s comments about City Hall and keeping the citizens who attend these meetings safe. But I have a feeling there is more to it, like a deterrent for citizens to go to the meetings or suppressing one’s right to speak, as Faust alluded to. Again, I, for one, am not against keeping people safe, but in another article, I read that there is a councilwoman (Donyale Hall) who is proposing a safety measure and seems to be taking it to an extreme.
I have recently read about an increase in the number of citizens attending city meetings. Some have been vocal about matters that have been affecting their communities or personal lives. Residents come to council meetings to express concern, fear or outrage when something troubling occurs in the city.
Unless things have changed within the last two months, I thought we lived in a country where people have rights. I didn’t know Dover City Hall was going to turn into a police state or a vault that allows only certain people access.
Further, Mr. Faust states in his letter that he has attended multiple council meetings over the past year-and-a-half, and there have been zero issues, zero violence, zero arrests and zero weapons at them.
So, maybe Ms. Hall can explain the sudden change of heart. Or is this security proposal for personal protection for her and others on City Council because they didn’t like being questioned or yelled at by the citizens who put them in those seats?
Security measures should not be instituted to the point that they prevent freedom of speech or expression.
In closing, maybe someone should ask Ms. Hall and others on council how much this is really going to cost the citizens of Dover. How much will our taxes be going up for council’s personal protection detail, i.e., metal detectors, X-ray machines, wands and overtime for extra police officers?
Louis Orangeo
Dover
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
