No one will be cutting a rug in one Oklahoma town on Valentine’s Day.
In Henryetta, Oklahoma, an old ordinance that's never been enforced is preventing the town from holding a Valentine's dance. The archaic law says there's no dancing allowed 500 feet from a church. A marketplace where the dance was planned is 300 feet from a church. In the past, the law has never been enforced according to town officials.
But this time, resident Robbie Kinney raised the question and posted it on Facebook. City officials researched it and discovered that "yes," the anti-dancing ordinance is still on the books.
Kinney has been ripped over asking and reminding people it’s illegal. Though the law has never once been enforced, Kinney says "Laws are laws, and we're going to abide by them. We can't pick and choose what laws we uphold.”
The dance organizer decided to cancel it. Mayor Jennifer Clason says the decision was based mostly because her husband is the city attorney for Henryetta and he has an oath to enforce the law.
City council will mull over removing the ordinance from the books at it’s next meeting…after Valentine’s Day.