Iowa Code 321.358 is pretty straightforward:
“No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:
on a sidewalk; in front a public or private driveway; within an intersection; within five feet of a fire hydrant; on a crosswalk…”
The list goes on.
But, nonetheless, it certainly seems like it is illegal for a person to stand on a street and block traffic.
Yet that is what police are allowing during these recent Black Lives Matter protests.
If the law isn’t enforced, then it is no law at all. Police have a duty to enforce the law as it is written. If it isn’t illegal to block traffic on a public street, then the legislature needs to fix this immediately. Perhaps an emergency session would be in order to restore some sort of law and order.
Or, if the law already exists, then it is time to enforce it.
It’s time for the adults to regain control.
