And Justice For All (Even Little Green Men)

This month 40 years ago, the AP ran a report (following a rash of UFO sightings) that centered on some of the earliest (and possibly first) laws enacted regarding these phenomena.

Palacios, TX mayor Bill Jackson announced the first ever "Fly-In" for UFOs at his city's local airport. A Fly-In is a social gathering for pilots and this invitation extended as far as outer space.

Ocean Springs, MS rejected an ordinance that would have governed the operation of UFOs within the city limits. The details of this proposed ordinance included a speed limit on UFOs (under twice the speed of sound).

The ordinance was penned by City Attorney Oscar Jordan who also proposed to make extraterrestrials subject to local law. In part this law would have stated: "It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to discriminate against such alien beings as may be transported in UFOs because of their race, creed or color, or their national origin, or international origin, or universal origin, or any other origin."  Seems like he could have simply said "regardless or origin."

Such 'profiling' may have taken place earlier that month in Falkville, AL when officer Jeff Greenshaw responded to a call about a spaceship with blinking lights.

Greenshaw found no craft when he arrived on scene but did encounter a metallic being of some sort in the middle of the road. What little movements it made were very robotic, Grreenshaw recalled. And no noises or sounds emanated from its featureless face. The officer also recalled that its head culminated in a point. Could the officer have been describing a helmet instead of a head?

Regardless of what he thought he was seeing, Greenshaw got out of his patrol car and said almost comically, "Howdy, stranger". However, the being made no sound and continued to stand there in the road.

Greenshaw took his camera out of the car and began to take photographs of the entity. Still, it made no sound and it didn't move; but when the officer switched on blue strobes atop his vehicle, the creature fled.

Greenshaw leaped into his car and sped after it. Even in a vehicle, the patrol man was unable to catch up to the strange sprinter.

Next door, in Gulfport, MS, a cab driver reported his encounter with an alien being that stopped his vehicle. However, the driver later recanted his tale.