Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

4. 

   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

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   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

IN rural Ohio the Swartzentrubers and other conservative Amish groups are claiming that a law that requires them to put flashing amber LED lights on their buggies unfairly infringes on their right to freedom of religion and are refusing to pay fines imposed on them.

Religion News Service (RNS) reports that, while the state says the new measures are crucial for safety, the Amish groups say it unfairly infringes on their right to freedom of religion.

They regard the lights as frivolous adornments, which goes against the sect’s religious commitment to simplicity. Members are also wary of deviating from tradition.

Originally introduced as House Bill 30 in 2021 by Republicans Darrell Kick and Scott Wiggam and signed into law in the summer of 2022, the new rule was expected to cut down on accidents involving buggies and cars.

State-collected data published in 2020 says there were between 60 and 84 such crashes per year from 2009 to 2019; fatalities were becoming more common, rising from six between 2009 and 2015 to nine from 2016-2019.

Because buggies are made of metal, fiberglass and wood, those inside often fare worse than those inside the cars.

In a response to an earlier, failed attempt by Ohio to mandate flashing lights in 2020, Abe Mast, a member of another conservative sect known as the Kenton Amish, submitted testimony to the House’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee in which he argued his community was being scapegoated. He wrote:

We feel the greatest cause of accidents is the use and influence of drugs and alcohol and the cell phone used while driving.

Since this law went into effect, there have been allegations of law enforcement going out of its way to target Swartzentruber drivers. In some instances they have waited outside church services to nab as many departing drivers as possible.

In one case, a couple with children in their buggy was rear-ended by a motorist and written up for child endangerment, a charge that comes with potential jail time. 

The Amish have “zero concept” of the court system, said Cory Anderson, a sociologist based in Holmes County who has been communicating with the Swartzentruber community on this issue.

They will not directly ask for attorneys to represent them, and they will not pay attorneys because they believe in being ‘defenceless Christians.’

Harvard University steps in

Harvard’s Religious Freedom Clinic has offered the Hamish legal support. On Tuesday, August 20, lawyers and students affiliated with Harvard University’s Religious Freedom Clinic, along with Ohio-based counsel Taft Stettinius & Hollister, filed a complaint in Hardin County and moved for a preliminary injunction that would immediately halt enforcement of the law statewide.

They argue the law violates numerous constitutional rights, including that it prevents the Swartzentrubers from freely practicing their faith and unduly restricts their ability to move throughout the state.

Over the years, similar laws mandating emblems — such as fluorescent yellow triangles — for slow-moving vehicles have passed in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

In all of these cases, the law eventually changed to accommodate the Swartzentrubers, who found culturally acceptable workarounds, including lantern style lights or patches of gray reflective tape.

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