Cemetery caches - still banned?

[Sduck]

Subject say all - I've got a nifty old cemetery that's just begging for a geocache, but if they're not allowed, tough. What's the current status?

[Monkeybrad]

The legislation is still in place, so it is still illegal "to play at an amusement" in cemeteries. Last year the amendment to fix the wording of the law was tabled. There is some hope that it will get on the calendar and to the floor during this year's session. This really is a case where you state senators and representatives need to hear from you. Geocachers represent a very small segment of the population, but if we can be a small but vocal segment of the population we may be able to get this outdated law changed. The good news is that no one (in my research and knowledge) has ever been charged with violation of this law for playing at any game or amusement.

Here is the text of the law as it stands:

46-2-105. Crimes and offenses
(a) No person shall willfully destroy, deface, or injure any monument, tomb, gravestone, or other structure placed in the cemetery, or any roadway, walk, fence or enclosure in or around the same, or injure any tree, plant or shrub therein, or hunt or shoot therein, play at any game or amusement therein, or loiter for lascivious or lewd purposes therein, or interfere, by words or actions, with any funeral procession or any religious exercises.
(b) A violation of this section is a Class E felony.

[the_alien_spy]

so maybe aslong as we dont have fun or haveing amusement when we find the cache make the cache rule as u must be sad and have no fun of finding it might be legal

but of course not haveing fun and geocaching whould be hard

[CamperJohn]

I fully respect not hiding a cache within the bounds of a cemetery....so, how far would be appropriate? I've found what appears to be a nice little family cemetery, and a nice spot for a cache about 100' away from the fence/wall line. Would that pass?

Camper John

[jeffbouldin]

Because of a few cachers trying to pull one over on the reviewers and claiming to them that the cache is out of the cemetery but it was actually inside, the reviewers have had to institute a 500 foot buffer zone around them.

[jeffbouldin]

I have a cemetery I'm trying to find and when I do I'll have to hide the cache 500 feet away and tell in the cache listing how to find it if the cachers want to visit.

[Monkeybrad]

Official policy is 528 feet away from the property boundary of the cemetery.

The Seanachai
Geocaching.com Volunteer Cache Reviewer for Tennessee

[CamperJohn]

Cool, treat them like a cache location...easiest enough to remember...thanks