The “Southern tradition” of street preaching will continue in the City of Copperhill.
The city’s Noise Ordinance was amended during a special called meeting Monday, October 26, to include a decibel limit for amplifiers on the streets.
The amendment arose after complaints of a preacher amplifying his sermons throughout the streets, but Mayor Kathy Stewart assured that this was not the reason for the change.
“As we are changing as a city, we did not have an ordinance for any amplified music or amplified bullhorns or anything amplified in the city,” she said.
Present for the meeting, the preacher, Richard Peacock, explained that he never intended to cause a problem and that he even had the McCaysville Police Department inspect his equipment prior to use.
“I understand that people sometimes don’t want to hear it, but the scripture tells us to tell ’em anyway,” Peacock said. “So many people do come by and tell me how much they appreciate it, out-of-towners, people from, not just other parts of Georgia, but Florida, as far up as Indiana. ... Israel ... Brazil.”
He continued noting that he’s “saved” several individuals during his street sermons, and that “there’s no way y’all could discourage me.”
“You can tell its annoying to some people,” resident Horace West said. “Some people it’s not. ... You ought to get on the train whistle.”
Stewart said that is a great example for why the city needed amplifiers covered in the ordinance, and she stressed that Peacock is “welcome on our street,” and that “this is something that you will never see anywhere else. This is a Southern tradition.”
“All people are not Christians,” West said. “You talk about discriminatory, if I’m somewhere and I don’t wanna hear it, I don’t have to be over and over told what you believe in. I might be an atheist.”
Explaining that by placing the limit on how loud an amplifier can project, Stewart said she is trying to allow everyone an opportunity to share their messages.