How do you legalize something in your city?

Answer 1

You can deal with things on either a Local, State, or Federal level. State trumps Local laws, Federal trumps State laws. Keep this in mind as you embark on the journey to legalizing something. If something is against the law in your state, you need to change the State law rather than the city, because you can legalize everything you want in your city, but if it's against the law in your state it's still against the law, catch my drift?

The different levels of government are organized similarly. Obviously, it's easier to change city law than it is to change national law. Each state's government mirrors the national government. You should have a set of districts with a House and Senate, much like the national government. Find out who your district's state congressmen are. You need to contact them, as they will be a big part of any legislation you want to pass. If they don't support you, find a senator or representative in your state who does. If you are serious about legalizing something, gather TONS of information on it. Research until your fingers are burning through your computer keys. Make sure you have a good set of print sources as well as online sources. Wikipedia may ruin your chances of being taken seriously! If there are any good books, studies, academic journals that argue your point, use them!

Form your argument. Start a following. There are many ways of doing this. A great way is to start a website, contact local newspapers, and get out a petition. Post lots of information and educate the public. Ask people to send letters to their congressmen. Make sure you start a petition. Once you meet with your congressman, you'll need to have some tangible way to show him/her you are serious and that the public is aware of the issue.

If you are not successful the first time, keep fighting. If you are successful, continue reading!

From there, your congressman has legislative aids that will take care of writing the law. He will pitch it to the House or Senate. If your following is large enough, other Senators should already know about the law. From there, there's nothing you can do. They will either vote it to continue to the other chamber, or it will die.

Make sure your Governor also knows, he's President of the Senate!

If you really want a following, get interest groups involved.

Make sure that what you are doing is plausible. I don't guarantee that any of this will work. Some changes are just too drastic to be ratified.

Good luck!

Answer 2

To legalize something in your city, you would need to work with local government officials to create or amend laws or regulations that permit the activity you are seeking to legalize. This often involves drafting proposals, gaining support from relevant stakeholders, and following the legal process for making changes to local ordinances. It may also require public hearings, community input, and ultimately a vote by the city council or other governing body to enact the change.