Lifestyle

TOPICS:

12/30/07

Previous

PAGE: 

1 ... 

11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

 ... 878

Next

RudieCantFail

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA
January 2006

JAN 05, 2008 06:11 PM

Full Article

Cliff Eakin, an ordained Wiccan minister is suing the government of Livingston Parish over an ordinance that he says violates his constitutional right to free expression of his religion.


"No person shall engage in the practices of soothsaying, fortune telling, palm reading, clairvoyance, crystal ball gazing, mind reading, card reading and the like, for money or other consideration," according to the ordinance the Parish Council approved May 10.



Specifically, Eakin is taking issue with the provision against "soothsaying", which he claims prohibits the practices used in divine transmission in the Wiccan faith, and should be legally treated no differently than a Christian minister receiving a message from God.


"The intent of the Parish Council in passing the ordinance was to promote Christian mythology over paganism," the suit states.

The suit also asserts that the ordinance is unconstitutionally vague.

"The ordinance leaves only an individual law enforcement officer to determine whether a particular conduct qualifies as 'and the like,' " the suit states.



Eakin's motives may not be wholly altruistic, however...


Eakin said that when he owned a metaphysical shop in New Orleans, he usually gave divinations for free.

But he added that he believes Wiccans should be able to seek small contributions for the practice, in much the same way Christian churches receive tithes and offerings.

The suit, filed on behalf of his business _ Gryphon's Nest Gifts Inc., says that the business seeks the right to perform divinations in Livingston Parish for profit.

MrStitches

MrStitches

Sag Harbor, NY
November 2003

JAN 05, 2008 06:18 PM

whatever

Subrosa

Subrosa

San Francisco, CA
July 2004

JAN 05, 2008 06:32 PM

That's a pretty good suit, actually. He probably won't win because the parish can say that they enacted the ordinance to discourage panhandling or scamming. But he's got some reasonably strong arguments to make.

RudieCantFail

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA
January 2006

JAN 05, 2008 06:38 PM

Personally, I don't understand why the Parish would enact such an ordinance in the first place.

If one genuinely believes in the practice as part of his/her religion, more power to them. But for non-believers, wouldn't it still just be a form of entertainment?

MrStitches

MrStitches

Sag Harbor, NY
November 2003

JAN 05, 2008 06:54 PM

RudieCantFail said:
Personally, I don't understand why the Parish would enact such an ordinance in the first place.

If one genuinely believes in the practice as part of his/her religion, more power to them. But for non-believers, wouldn't it still just be a form of entertainment?



I think it has something to do with it being kind of a scam. Charging people to lie to them is kind of a bit shady.

Darke

Darke

Trego, WI
June 2005

JAN 05, 2008 06:59 PM

Subrosa said:
That's a pretty good suit, actually. He probably won't win because the parish can say that they enacted the ordinance to discourage panhandling or scamming. But he's got some reasonably strong arguments to make.



Fortune tellers get around this stuff all the time. Call it a gift or donation, or slap a note on the sign that says "for entertainment purposes only". That or something like it... most of those ordinances have loopholes you can drive a truck through.

RudieCantFail

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA
January 2006

JAN 05, 2008 07:05 PM

MrStitches said:

RudieCantFail said:
Personally, I don't understand why the Parish would enact such an ordinance in the first place.

If one genuinely believes in the practice as part of his/her religion, more power to them. But for non-believers, wouldn't it still just be a form of entertainment?



I think it has something to do with it being kind of a scam. Charging people to lie to them is kind of a bit shady.



But if it's part of a religious practice, who's to say it's lying if both the diviner and the divinee are believers? How is it any different than going to a church, hearing "the word of God" and then paying a tithing or other type of fee for use of the church's services?

Even when not performed as part of a religious rite, I think such practices could be qualified as a legitimate form of entertainment.

MrStitches

MrStitches

Sag Harbor, NY
November 2003

JAN 05, 2008 07:34 PM

RudieCantFail said:

MrStitches said:

RudieCantFail said:
Personally, I don't understand why the Parish would enact such an ordinance in the first place.

If one genuinely believes in the practice as part of his/her religion, more power to them. But for non-believers, wouldn't it still just be a form of entertainment?



I think it has something to do with it being kind of a scam. Charging people to lie to them is kind of a bit shady.



But if it's part of a religious practice, who's to say it's lying if both the diviner and the divinee are believers? How is it any different than going to a church, hearing "the word of God" and then paying a tithing or other type of fee for use of the church's services?

Even when not performed as part of a religious rite, I think such practices could be qualified as a legitimate form of entertainment.



I dunno, is it legal for a church to require donations to take part in services? I mean, they can sell you'll go to hell or whatever. But they can't charge admission. I think there is a difference between saying donations are morally required, and charging for fortune telling.

RudieCantFail

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA
January 2006

JAN 05, 2008 07:41 PM

MrStitches said:
I dunno, is it legal for a church to require donations to take part in services? I mean, they can sell you'll go to hell or whatever. But they can't charge admission. I think there is a difference between saying donations are morally required, and charging for fortune telling.



I think that they can, though I'm not 100% sure. Scientologists charge for various levels of inclusion in their church, and they're considered a bona fide religion (legally that is).

Rush

Rush

Long Island City, NY
June 2005

JAN 05, 2008 09:45 PM

Synagogues have membership fees instead of tithes or passing the plate. I'd say definitely legal to charge for inclusion.

MrStitches

MrStitches

Sag Harbor, NY
November 2003

JAN 05, 2008 09:49 PM

Rush said:
Synagogues have membership fees instead of tithes or passing the plate. I'd say definitely legal to charge for inclusion.



Learn something new every day apparently.

BlastProcessing

BlastProcessing

USA
OLD SKOOL

JAN 06, 2008 12:29 AM

And now for In Bad Taste, featuring BlastProcessing:

"Looks like Pat Robertson finally got someone to believe his whole 'Katrina was caused by the filthy, filthy heathens' routine."

This has been In Bad Taste, featuring BlastProcessing.

RudieCantFail

RudieCantFail

Baton Rouge, LA
January 2006

JAN 06, 2008 12:51 AM

^^^ LULZ

Lemonkid

Lemonkid

Montreal, QC
May 2003

JAN 06, 2008 03:31 PM

One small step for a warlock, one giant leap for witchcraftkind.

sitar

sitar

Philadelphia, PA
June 2004

JAN 06, 2008 03:42 PM

there was a crackdown on tarot card readers in philly last year.
it was goofy.

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

JAN 06, 2008 04:00 PM

sitar said:
there was a crackdown on tarot card readers in philly last year.
it was goofy.


to be fair, they should have seen it coming.

sitar

sitar

Philadelphia, PA
June 2004

JAN 06, 2008 04:04 PM

PointBlank said:

sitar said:
there was a crackdown on tarot card readers in philly last year.
it was goofy.


to be fair, they should have seen it coming.



Hah!
my friend, who told me about it, managed to sidestep the unpleasantness.

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

United Kingdom
July 2006

JAN 06, 2008 04:10 PM

MrStitches said:

RudieCantFail said:
Personally, I don't understand why the Parish would enact such an ordinance in the first place.

If one genuinely believes in the practice as part of his/her religion, more power to them. But for non-believers, wouldn't it still just be a form of entertainment?



I think it has something to do with it being kind of a scam. Charging people to lie to them is kind of a bit shady.



Why does the word "scientology" spring to mind?

mydogfarted

mydogfarted

Waldwick, NJ
June 2003

JAN 07, 2008 07:57 AM

SockPuppet said:

MrStitches said:

RudieCantFail said:
Personally, I don't understand why the Parish would enact such an ordinance in the first place.

If one genuinely believes in the practice as part of his/her religion, more power to them. But for non-believers, wouldn't it still just be a form of entertainment?



I think it has something to do with it being kind of a scam. Charging people to lie to them is kind of a bit shady.



Why does the word "scientology" spring to mind?



Because it was mentioned a few posts before?