Michigan City Votes to Ban Annoying Behavior

Dec. 24, 2008— -- Some residents of a small Michigan town say an ordinance recently passed by the city council does exactly what it is supposed to prohibit: It annoys them.

As part of an amended harassment ordinance, the seven-member Brighton City Council voted this month to make annoying behavior a civil offense punishable by a $100 fine.

"I think it's the most ridiculous thing in the world," Brighton resident Charles Griffin told ABCNews.com. "And I think everyone who voted for it should be impeached."

But town officials say the local media has blown the issue way out of proportion and, as a result, residents are misinformed.

"It's not an annoyance ordinance," Brighton Police Chief Thomas Wightman said. "It's a harassment ordinance."

The legislation prohibits physical violence in public places, insulting another person in a public place or harassing another person by telephone, e-mail or other forms of communication.

But the paragraph many are paying attention to reads: "It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose."

Brighton resident Patricia Cole, who says she attends most of the city council's twice-monthly meetings, said she'll be "very guarded" during the public comment portion now.

Cole likened the ordinance to being "harassment of the people."

That's ironic, given that city officials said they passed the law trying to prevent obnoxious behavior that could lead to something more dangerous.

Understanding the New Law

Residents, Wightman said, will not be ticketed for speaking out at public meetings, for talking too loud or for complaining to town officials.

What people will be ticketed for are things like continued neighborhood disputes, repeated text messages or ongoing harassment between ex-spouses or former boyfriends and girlfriends.

While state laws cover serious harassment, this city ordinance protects against lesser behaviors that are disturbing but may not rise to the level of state charges.