Police follow law, don’t force beliefs As a Clovis police officer I would like to comment on the inappropriate sticker issue (Hell-raising sticker squabble, Thursday’s CNJ) and police critics whose views were published in Tuesday’s paper. First, police do not push their beliefs on the public. Filth displayed in public is against the law. All that nonsense about art being displayed in galleries? Well, it is just that: It is for people to view in private, not on automobiles. Lisa Morrow’s stupid comment about the seatbelt police shows her ignorance. It is the law to buckle up. Morrow also complained about the police writing tickets for loud music. Again there is a city ordinance against this. Why would anybody want to be encased inside their vehicle with the music so loud that it turns their gray matter into jelly? As for the sticker, it was not just somebody of authority that was offended, but several citizens complained. Why should the people of Clovis have to be exposed to such things, especially at a family restaurant? Yes, Dean Young has the right to display his sticker; but in his house, not in public. His excuse was he was protesting against the so-called church people and because he could not buy beer on Sunday. Please. Now for David Burke: I have been a Clovis police officer for nine years and I have never seen any officer take an hour to respond to any call; if that happened, there was a good reason. Now for Denver Jones: It is not a police officer’s job to police property with junk cars. This is the job of the city inspections office. You want the police to get involved in the City Beautification Program? How about the people get involved in the program, such as Jones? Officers do act on vehicles that park on sidewalks, but if we were to issue citations for every offense, people like Lisa Morrow would call us the sidewalk police. It just seems that we can’t win. If any citizens believe they can do a better job, please show me. We still have job openings. Just contact Capt. Mike Ingram at 769-1921 and join our team instead of criticizing. Marty Williamson Clovis Police shouldn’t prosecute poor taste I am not surprised the community is unhappy with Dean Young’s taste in car decor. I am more concerned about police ticketing him for the stickers. How do the police believe this will hold up in court? The charge of distribution of sexually oriented materials to minors seems far-fetched. My dictionary states the term distribution is defined as “the delivery or giving out of an item to its intended recipient or recipients.” Does anyone really think Young set out to distribute these materials to minors? Need I remind anyone that the First Amendment includes freedom of expression? Admittedly, I have not seen the stickers, but from the description it could very well be implying a sexual act. Still, the question remains: Did he intend for this to be aimed at children? I think not. And what about the makers of the sticker? Why are they not being charged? Undoubtedly, Young is suffering from an acute case of poor taste. I must admit, though, that I have seen similar images on T-shirts. One in particular shows two lizards engaging in different sexual acts, including oral sex. In this instance, nothing is left to the imagination, right down to the look on the lizards’ faces. I have never known anyone to get cited for wearing this T-shirt and I have seen it in public places on three different occasions. Perhaps Clovis police should start new divisions for the “fashion police” and the “tacky police” so we can alleviate the problem of improper behavior — as deemed, of course, by the Clovis police and public opinion. Helen Carroll Portales Religion: Too much clout in Clovis I regularly visit Web sites that report on strange and silly news from around the world, and now I’ve been treated with one such story from my hometown. One thing I should like to ask Detective Kirk Roberts: Does his job offer so much free time that he can go around charging folks just because some cartoon sticker offends his delicate senses? I have no doubt that he could easily find 100 folks from Clovis who can be equally offended and consider a cartoon sticker “pornography,” but Clovis is a very insular world compared to the rest of America. The town will receive a wake-up call if the ACLU actually (and hopefully) takes up Young’s case. I agree with Young that religious attitudes have too much clout within the politics and laws of Clovis. It’s very apparent that religion is the reason you can’t buy alcohol on Sunday. ... It’s also the reason MTV was yanked off the cable roster back in the late 1980s. I hope Young will carry through and fight this, and send a message to everyone that those folks who have a different opinion won’t be pushed around. It won’t end there, either — just wait until the ACLU shows up and sees the Ten Commandments on the front lawn of the courthouse. Ethan Forsythe Camp Pendleton, Calif.