No More Hopscotch in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Courtesy of an Omaha, Nebraska TV Station's website comes this example of prioritizing the attack on crime and societal evil.

An art gallery owner in Lincoln, Nebraska, uses chalk to draw directions to his gallery on Lincoln's public sidewalks. Somebody apparently didn't like the chalk directions, so they complained to the police (because why go to the vile perpetrator himself, right?). The police promptly ticketed the gallery director for "advertising without a license." In addition, police suggested the chalk directions on the sidewalk violate a city ordinance prohibited vandalism which precludes marring, defacing, or damaging any public or private property.

According to the news story:

"My first thought was that it was ridiculous, especially because the initial charges were vandalism," Lynch said.

Lynch and Gomez said no one had ever complained before about the patterns, and they even used a chalk-and-water mix that was easy to remove. With that in mind, they said, they wished police had taken a different approach.

"The reaction was a citation. Not like, ' Hey, what is this about?' There was no dialogue. It was just strictly a ticket," Lynch said.

But the police insist that they acted properly in bringing down the hammer and issuing a ticket. A police spokesperson said, "We're not picking on anyone, we just want everyone to be aware of the ordinance we do have that prohibits this." The ticket could end up in a fine of between $100 and $500.

The gallery owner gets the last word:

"Are they going to (ticket) children for hopscotch next?" Lynch asked.