No, this isn’t Footloose, but it sure feels like it. With a unanimous vote, the Henryetta City Council lifted an antiquated ban on, of all things, dancing.
The city made headlines last month when it cancelled a planned Valentine’s Day dance because it violated a 1979 city ordinance prohibiting dancing within 500 feet of a church or school.
According to News9.com, people from across the area protested the law when it first passed by dancing in city streets. However, there was no vocal authoritarian dissent when the ban was lifted in late February. Tulsa World reported that the vote was met with cheers from the crowd.
It’s easy to get caught up in the ridiculousness of the old law, but there’s no reason to be upset with the fine folks of Henryetta. Think of them like the daughter whose absurdly protective father insisted to everyone who asked that his precious little girl would not be allowed to go out or date a boy until she was 40 and he was actually off his rocker enough to actually follow through with his threat.
We would like to be the first to ask the fair folk of Henryetta, May we have this dance?
