Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: guns and cigarettes

[Catya Belfer-Shevett (catya]

Hi Ann,

> Just throwing in my 2 cents here...I live in the same community w/
> Anna.  I totally support her statement about not consensing on
> policies until you move in.  And to add to her statement...it's most
> important that you have lots n' lots of conversations about these
> various issues.  It's very important to learn where you and your
> neighbors stand on certain values. For me, the remarkable thing
> is...once I'm aware of what my neighbor's needs are I can support
> them w/out having a policy.  My experience is that good communication
> forstalls the need of a paper policy.

It's interesting, because the reason we're starting these early is because
of a whole bunch of people on this list saying how they wish they had worked
on these things before move-in, and how hard it was to have people with
differing expectations, etc, after they had already moved in to the place.

> Um.  I'm wondering how guns could be forbidden in a cohousing
> community -- I mean in the by laws  -- as it's a 4th Amendment right.
> (I'm not taking a position here -- I'm just trying to figure out how
> this could be legally done.)  And, would you really want to do this?
> If, somehow, you DID forbid guns in the community that would mean
> that all law enforcement folks would be restricted as they are
> required to carry a weapon.  Of course, maybe cohousers don't want
> police, DEA, Immigration, and military people in our communities.  We
> have three military households in TVC (soon to be just 2!) I would
> hate it if we had a policy restricting them from living here.

I'm not looking to ban guns, actually.  I'm looking to clarify the
circumstances under which it's ok to have them.

> Anyway... just a few extra thoughts on a late Friday afternoon.

Thanks, Ann.

        - catya
                              ____
Catya Belfer-Shevett      ____\  /      Interested in
catya [at] pobox.com           \  / \/      Cohousing in MA?
www.catya.org              \/       www.mosaic-commons.org

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