Alaska town considers tightening decency law, banning public defecation
The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A rural Alaska town is considering whether to borrow from state law and make it illegal for people to defecate or urinate in public.
If the law passes in Bethel, public excretion could be punishable by local fines as high as $200. It is already prohibited by state law, but if it is also adopted by the community, "the fine goes to the city instead of the state," City Attorney Patty Burley said Thursday.
Burley said that public defecation is not a problem in the community of 6,100, but officials wanted to update local laws to reflect state law. It's an offense found in the local laws of other communities reviewed by Burley as officials drafted the proposed changes.
City Council member Mary Sattler, who has lived in Bethel most of her life, said she has never witnessed anyone relieving themselves in public.
"There is, even among inebriated people, a desire to be modest about things like that," she said.
It's also a practice that should not be done in the open anyway, officials said.
"I can understand out in the tundra or in private somewhere behind some bushes, but no, not out in the city itself," City Council member Sharon Sigmon said, according to Bethel radio station KYUK.
Other proposed amendments to the town's peace, morals and welfare code include a ban on walking on public streets or ice roads while intoxicated if it poses a hazard for traffic in Bethel, which is about 400 miles west of Anchorage. Violators would face fines as much as $500.
The community serves as a commercial hub for dozens of Alaska Native villages in the region.
A public hearing on the proposed amendments was introduced last week. City Clerk Lori Strickler said a public hearing on the issue will be held Tuesday.
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Originally Posted by The Associated Press
