Some residents of private communities have found that saving the planet conflicts with following their community rules. They want to conserve energy by hanging clothes outside to dry. But their neighbors dislike the sight of hanging laundry. At one time, people solved these dilemmas by moving west. Nowadays, they call their state legislators.

I hope Missouri won’t join the states that have enacted laws overriding private community clothesline bans. People joined these communities voluntarily, and they knew the rules up front. It’s not okay to ask the state to change the terms of your contract once you’ve already signed.