from:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/18/scotus.jehovah.switne.ap/index.html
Residents not concerned about ruling in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses
June 18, 2002 Posted: 6:42 AM EDT (1042 GMT)
STRATTON, Ohio (AP) -- In a town this small, it's easy to tell who doesn't belong.
That's why residents in this 287-person Ohio River hamlet say they're not too worried about Monday's Supreme Court decision striking down a local ordinance that required anyone going door-to-door to get a permit.
Mayor John Abdalla will still be able to spot uninvited solicitors, locals say.
"If we see outsiders in town, we'll call him up and let him know," said Christy Weaver, 26, who works at Abdalla's Tavern, a steakhouse the mayor owns. "That's the way things are done around here."
By a vote of 8-1, the high court held that the Constitution guarantees religious groups, politicians, Girl Scouts and others the right to knock on doors without stopping at town hall for permission.
The decision came in a challenge of a village ordinance that had for decades required salesmen to get permits. In 1998 the village extended it to all doorstep solicitors.
Jehovah's Witnesses challenged the law, saying it violated their free speech rights, and the justices agreed, calling the ordinance "offensive, not only to the values protected by the First Amendment but to the very notion of a free society."
Word of the decision spread fast through the eastern Ohio village.
The phone rang all morning at the mayor's tavern, and everyone had opinions about the ruling.
"Everybody has the right to practice their own religion, but I don't think Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to push it on you from your own doorstep," Judy Lucas, 59, said as she stood behind the bar puffing on cigarettes.
At the indoor swimming pool down the street, swim coach Sandy Racz, who has lived in Stratton for 25 years, couldn't believe the ruling.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Racz, 44, exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "It's not really violating their free speech rights, because they can still tell us what they want, they just have to tell us who they are."
Residents still will be able to put their names on a no-solicitation list that will prevent all canvassers -- including Jehovah's Witnesses -- from stopping by their homes, said Frank Bruzzese, the town's law director.
"That ordinance was unscathed. It survived the court," he said, noting that he will review the court's decision to see if any part of the registration ordinance can remain.
Dee Goddard, who regularly worships with Jehovah's Witnesses, said she was not surprised by the court's ruling.
"We had enough faith to believe that they would see this was a violation of our constitutional rights," Goddard, 66, said while standing in her back yard, taking a break from cleaning her house. "The only thing that surprised us was that this case was about little bitty Stratton."
Despite village officials' claims to the contrary, Goddard and her granddaughter Theresa Hendricks said they believe the ordinance targeted Jehovah's Witnesses.
"They're not out to hurt anyone," said Hendricks, 32, a Methodist. "They're not scary. They're just people with a message." The denomination requires doorstep proselytizing.
Paula Suhan, 51, sipped a drink at Mobley's Bar and Grill and said she's scared to answer the door and probably will be even more now that no one will know who is knocking on her door.
"People have a right to talk to people in a public situation but not a private situation," she said. "So, don't knock on my door. I don't want to talk to you. I won't answer it."
The mayor said he simply wanted to protect elderly residents from scam artists by having the names and affiliations of canvassers on record.
Melinda Martin, 29, said village officials still will know who's in town.
"Some older people here who don't have much to do call the mayor any time they see a car or a person they don't recognize," the nine-year Stratton resident said. "Word spreads here."
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.
STRATTON, Ohio (AP) -- In a town this small, it's easy to tell who doesn't belong.
That's why residents in this 287-person Ohio River hamlet say they're not too worried about Monday's Supreme Court decision striking down a local ordinance that required anyone going door-to-door to get a permit.
Mayor John Abdalla will still be able to spot uninvited solicitors, locals say.
"If we see outsiders in town, we'll call him up and let him know," said Christy Weaver, 26, who works at Abdalla's Tavern, a steakhouse the mayor owns. "That's the way things are done around here."
By a vote of 8-1, the high court held that the Constitution guarantees religious groups, politicians, Girl Scouts and others the right to knock on doors without stopping at town hall for permission.
The decision came in a challenge of a village ordinance that had for decades required salesmen to get permits. In 1998 the village extended it to all doorstep solicitors.
Jehovah's Witnesses challenged the law, saying it violated their free speech rights, and the justices agreed, calling the ordinance "offensive, not only to the values protected by the First Amendment but to the very notion of a free society."
Word of the decision spread fast through the eastern Ohio village.
The phone rang all morning at the mayor's tavern, and everyone had opinions about the ruling.
"Everybody has the right to practice their own religion, but I don't think Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to push it on you from your own doorstep," Judy Lucas, 59, said as she stood behind the bar puffing on cigarettes.
At the indoor swimming pool down the street, swim coach Sandy Racz, who has lived in Stratton for 25 years, couldn't believe the ruling.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Racz, 44, exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "It's not really violating their free speech rights, because they can still tell us what they want, they just have to tell us who they are."
Residents still will be able to put their names on a no-solicitation list that will prevent all canvassers -- including Jehovah's Witnesses -- from stopping by their homes, said Frank Bruzzese, the town's law director.
"That ordinance was unscathed. It survived the court," he said, noting that he will review the court's decision to see if any part of the registration ordinance can remain.
Dee Goddard, who regularly worships with Jehovah's Witnesses, said she was not surprised by the court's ruling.
"We had enough faith to believe that they would see this was a violation of our constitutional rights," Goddard, 66, said while standing in her back yard, taking a break from cleaning her house. "The only thing that surprised us was that this case was about little bitty Stratton."
Despite village officials' claims to the contrary, Goddard and her granddaughter Theresa Hendricks said they believe the ordinance targeted Jehovah's Witnesses.
"They're not out to hurt anyone," said Hendricks, 32, a Methodist. "They're not scary. They're just people with a message." The denomination requires doorstep proselytizing.
Paula Suhan, 51, sipped a drink at Mobley's Bar and Grill and said she's scared to answer the door and probably will be even more now that no one will know who is knocking on her door.
"People have a right to talk to people in a public situation but not a private situation," she said. "So, don't knock on my door. I don't want to talk to you. I won't answer it."
The mayor said he simply wanted to protect elderly residents from scam artists by having the names and affiliations of canvassers on record.
Melinda Martin, 29, said village officials still will know who's in town.
"Some older people here who don't have much to do call the mayor any time they see a car or a person they don't recognize," the nine-year Stratton resident said. "Word spreads here."
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.