Until last month, reading someone's palm for pay could technically land you a $500 fine, 93 days in jail, or both in Petoskey, Michigan, thanks to an ordinance banning fortunetelling within city limits. The Petoskey City Council, which repealed the ban, is now seeking to impose new licensing requirements on town fortunetellers, but a straightforward legal solution doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Petoskey previously deemed it "unlawful for any person to engage in fortunetelling or pretend to tell fortunes for hire, gain or reward." A Petoskey resident contacted city staff earlier this year to criticize the ban, prompting the City Council to consider revising or repealing the ordinance. Minutes from a February 7 City Council meeting revealed that the ban was imposed in 2014 "when there had been scams perpetrated by transient individuals in the City at that time," but noted "that those actions were not in regards to fortunetelling and there have been no complaints received concerning fortunetelling since its enactment."
