$230,000 plus surgical procedure

Having cut Lincolns nose off to spite our face the City council now has to pay nearly a quarter of a million dollars to have it re-attached.

At the time and on several occasions since it was plain that the city was in violation of the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For anyone that even remotely followed the events as they unfolded this was obvious.

It was a forgone conclusion that Lincoln would lose this if it ever went to court. This seems to be why an out of court settlement has been agreed to at this time. Why it took so long or why the whole process was necessarily is beyond comprehension.

$230,000 is just what Lincoln has to pay DNS Inc, that amount does not include the thousands of dollars paid as salaries to the City Attorneys Office, who could have been working on other projects, to fight a battle that they knew was lost before it began. It does not address the thousands of dollars in court employee salaries that was spent on this debacle.

All along it has been made perfectly clear what is required of Lincoln under these acts. Now the city has to cut a check for nearly a quarter of a million dollars out of the already depleted coffers.

This has been a loser for the city from day one.

This isn't the first time city leaders have wasted tax payer dollars in similar fashion and it won't be the last.

Consider the City Councils recent decision in regards to two firearms related ordinances that were enacted.

The Constitution of the State of Nebraska clearly states that;

neither the State nor any Political Subdivision infringe or deny the Right to Keep and Bear arms.

Note: No one in their right mind wants criminals of certain felonious classes to have access to firearms, but in this case one of the ordinances in question does in fact deny the Right to citizens who have been convicted of misdemeanor crimes. This is not a criminal issue. This is a Constitutional issue in which the City has over stepped its bounds.

The other Ordinance barring firearms from City/County buildings clearly contravenes the intent of Nebraska's newly enacted Concealed Carry Law that states;

A permit holder may carry a concealed firearm anywhere in the state except.......

The State law is implicit on where carry is legal, it is not in the purview of local government to make illegal what the state legislature has made legal.

These Ordinances clearly contravene the State Constitution and Statutes. They are a clear invitation to a lawsuit that is right now being considered by several of the National Firearms Rights Organizations.

How much will this ultimately cost Lincoln tax payers?

Several of Lincolns City Council members are aware that these Ordinances are illegal and invite a Federal lawsuit as is in this case with Developmental Services of Nebraska Inc. That they chose to enact them anyway will likely cost the City who knows how many dollars down the road.

Lincolnites would do well to remember which of our elected representatives have a track record for ignoring The United States Constitution, the Federal Code, the Nebraska State Constitution, the Nebraska State Statutes, and in some cases even Lincoln City Ordinances when they mark their ballots in the upcoming elections.