HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – Fortunetelling and similar trades are now in the cards for folks in Huntington. The City Council has repealed an article of the Huntington City Code that prohibited such professions.

On Monday night, the Huntington City Council voted on a second reading of an ordinance to repeal this article. The motion passed with a 9-2 vote.

City of Huntington Communications Director Bryan Chambers says the second reading of an ordinance serves as the final reading and that the repeal should take effect immediately.

Section 529 of Huntington City Code stated, “No clairvoyant, fortune-teller, palmist, phrenologist or person of similar pretensions or profession shall ply or practice his trade or profession in the city for gain.”

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Prior to the vote, Assistant Huntington City Attorney Sam Ransbottom spoke to the Council, recommending it be repealed.

“In the time passed since this article was adopted, the law was developed to show this is an unconstitutional prohibition on free speech. As a government, we’re limited in the ways we can regulate people’s speech, and by keeping this law on the books as it is now, we open ourselves up to a potential lawsuit,” Ransbottom said in the meeting.

In mid-June, the Council’s Legislative Committee recommended the ordinance be repealed. At that time, residents of the city told WOWK 13 News they were surprised to learn that fortune-telling was illegal in Huntington.

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