'Annoyance' Ordinance Would Require Township Adults Live By Same Rules As Kids

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Trustees in a southeast Michigan township are considering what’s unofficially being called an “annoyance” ordinance.

But the Malicious Communications Ordinance under consideration in Plymouth Township isn’t as flippant as all that.

The township’s Board of Trustees considered the ordinance for the first time at a meeting Tuesday. It would make it illegal to send or deliver written malicious messages, or to use telecommunications services or devices to threaten, harass, molest or intimidate others.

Board of Trustees Supervisor Shannon Price told Patch the proposed ordinance is a sort of anti-bullying law for adults in that it would make residents abide by the same rules as students in the Plymouth-Canton school district, which has a strict anti-bullying policy.

“When our kids are taught policies and procedures and etiquette, how do we ask them to live by a set of rules we won’t apply to ourselves?” Price said.”How do we not have those same rules apply to us?”

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• State Tip Line Helps Curb Student Suicides, School Violence

Price said he was shocked by the statistics in a report issued this week by the office Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette about a tip line, OK2SAY, which allows students, staff and parents in Michigan to report possible crime in schools confidentially.

“One in six children is bullied, and 160,000 don’t go to school because they’re bullied,” Price said. “One in 17 children contemplates suicide, and one in 11 try it once.”

In a township whose board of trustees meetings are sometimes fraught with controversy, Price expects some backlash.

“What you’re going to hear is that it’s a First Amendment violation, but there’s no intention to deny free speech,” he said. “What the Constitution does not afford you is the right to harass, intimidate and make people fear for their lives, or terrorize people while hiding behind their keyboards.”

That said, “insulting, verbally assaulting people is not a violation of the ordinance, but of how you should treat other people,” Price said.

The proposed ordinance isn’t directed at critics of township politics, he said.

“This is not directed in any way to stop someone’s right to free speech, whether political or non-political,” he reiterated. “It’s intended to make everyone, whether adults or adolescents, live by the same rules we ask our kids to live by.”

Tell Us in the Comments:

• Do you think the Malicious Communications Ordinance should be approved? Why or why not?

At Tuesday’s meeting, Mary Scarpace, 14, of Plymouth Township, told WXYZ-TV, she welcomes the proposed ordinance.

“I think it would be a good thing for the township,” she said.

Those violating the ordinance could be fined up to $500 and sentenced to 90 days in jail. The ordinance is expected to come up again at the Sept. 22 meeting of the board of trustees. Price said he would like to see the proposal adopted by October, which is National Bullying Prevention Month.

Below, read the ordinance as approved on the first reading Tuesday.