As I posted a few weeks back, the town of Front Royal, Virginia has been considering the repeal of an old law banning ‘fortune-telling’ in its city limits.
The law in question, Code 110-17 states,
A. It shall be unlawful for any company of gypsies or other strolling company or person to receive compensation or reward for pretending to tell fortunes or to practice any so-called “magic art.”
B. Every person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.) or confined in jail not less than one (1) nor more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Last week, after considerable debate, Town Council voted 4-2 in favour of repealing Code 110-17, making ‘fortune-telling’ officially legal in Front Royal.
But there’s still discussion to be had regarding potential license fees and/or other regulations.
Presently, Code 98-42 maintains that fortunetellers, clairvoyants, phrenologists, spirit mediums, astrologists, hypnotists, and palmists must pay a non-transferable $400 license tax to do business in Front Royal.
This Code is under review and a decision regarding license fees and/or other regulations will likely be made by the end of September. I’ll let you know what happens as I hear more.
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In a 4-3 vote last week, the Town Council of Front Royal, Virginia, passed a motion to repeal Code 110-17, a fortune-telling ban that specifically targets ‘gypsies or other strolling company or person….”
The code itself states,
A. It shall be unlawful for any company of gypsies or other strolling company or person to receive compensation or reward for pretending to tell fortunes or to practice any so-called “magic art.”
B. Every person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.) or confined in jail not less than one (1) nor more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Though it might seem that this ordinance would be unacceptable simply for naming a specific ethnic group, let alone the undefined prohibition on ‘pretend fortunes’ and the practice of ‘magic art’, a number of town folk came out to support it.
I won’t go into all the arguments here, but please take a look at NVDaily.com’s reporting (and comment section) to see how the debate shaped up. Most of it revolved around religious attitudes and some of it is quite ugly.
And to make things even more confusing, Front Royal has another Town Code on the books that details the license fee to be paid by ‘fortune-tellers’ et al.
Code 98-42 says,
For every license for a person engaged in business as a fortuneteller, clairvoyant, phrenologist, spirit medium, astrologist, hypnotist or palmist, there shall be paid a license tax of four hundred dollars ($400.) a year. Such license tax shall not be proratable. A license for a fortuneteller, clairvoyant, phrenologist, spirit medium, astrologist, hypnotist or palmist shall not be transferable.
Though the license fee seems a bit high, Code 98-42 makes it clear that once that fee is paid, ‘fortune-telling’ in Front Royal is already legal. If so, the issue surrounding Code 110-17 isn’t so much about ‘fortune-telling’ per se, but rather who’s doing it.
There will be a second hearing on Code 110-17 before any repeal actually takes effect. I’ll let you know how it plays out as I hear more.
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