Back in July I blogged about municipal laws that regulate or ban fortune telling, and mentioned that the Louisiana parish of Livingston (named after Edward Livingston, who represented both New York and Louisiana in Congress, though not at the same time, of course) had passed a new ordinance against fortune telling. I also noted that I thought someone might challenge this ordinance fairly soon.
Well, someone has. Cliff Eakin, a self-described Wiccan minister and owner of a business called Gryphon's Nest Gifts, has filed suit in U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, citing First Amendment concerns. According to a Baton Rouge Advocate article,
The suit maintains that the parish ordinance violates the plaintiff’s right to free speech. “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.
Read the entire article here. Here's more from the Shreveport Times. In the three days since the suit was filed, even mainstream blogs have reacted: Religion Clause notes the lawsuit here.
Yeah, this makes sense. Our Constitution allows for freedom of religion...as long as your Christian. I have to laugh at the Christians - for all their talk of being persecuted, they are without a doubt the worst persecutors!
Posted by: Pagan | January 18, 2008 at 03:15 PM