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Mayor Earnest Nash is completely opposed to the plan and is willing to go to court rather than see the ordinance pass.
"This is still America," Mayor Nash told Fox 16.
"You just can't vote and violate people's constitutional rights," he said.
Last Monday, the council voted to ban groups from gathering or forming without city approval.
Sonja Farley, a member of the Gould City Council, said that no matter the group, if anyone meets to discuss the city, that meeting must be approved by the city.
"You can't just come in here, get with four people and decide to start an organization," Farley said, adding, "You will go through your city council with legal documentation and get approval."
But Mayor Nash promised he would not sign the ordinance, calling it ludicrous that he would not be allowed to meet with citizens to discuss city business.
"They can take me to court," Mayor Nash said pointedly.
Fox 16's Katherine Johnson said the ordinance was "extremely vague," and encompasses "Boy Scout troups, book clubs," and even bans families from discussing city matters at the dinner table.
Johnson said the Mayor vetoed the ordinance on a technicality, but it could be brought up at a council meeting in August and possibly made law without the Mayor's approval.
Johnson also said that if the ordinance was passed, her interview with Mayor Nash and the city council would be illegal.
John DiPippa, Dean of the Law School at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, expressed disbelief when he first read the proposed law.
"The truth is the city of Gould doesn't have the authority to tell anyone that they have no right to petition them, no right to speak and no right to exist in their city," DiPippa told Fox16.
"The fact is, if it's aimed at this group, it also extends to you talking to your mother or a church group or any other group that wants to form. A garden club! It's so broad that it can't possible comply with the First Amendment," he said.
Fox reports that even the city attorney tried to tell the council the proposal was illegal and violated the First Amendment. In return for his advice, Fox reported that "members tried to fire him."
DiPippa told Fox the ordinance will end up with a lawsuit:
"Unfortunately, it's probably going to lead to a lawsuit, embarrassment and an expense for the city of Gould because this has no chance of being upheld in a court," said DiPippa, adding, according to the ordinance, the conversations Fox16 had with the mayor, council members and the Gould City Advisory Commission on Wednesday were against the law.A post at therightscoop.com notes:
"Technically, when they met with you, they violated their own ordinance," said DiPippa.
This is tyranny on steroids. I can't imagine this will stand up in court but it appears that the city council wants to test that theory. Just unbelievable that they would even do this. They must be really crooked if they want to silence people in this manner.
Never ceases to amaze me.