How do they figure the JW is a charitable org.?
They dont donate to any causes that I know of.
I believe they should be considered a buisness!!
Sunrise reviews law on soliciting door to door
By Jeremy Milarsky
Staff Writer
Posted July 23 2002
SUNRISE Doorstep preachers may soon be able to go through neighborhoods in this city without stopping by City Hall for a permit.
In an attempt to comply with a June 17 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, City Attorney Jeff Olson has asked commissioners to change the city's law governing door-to-door soliciting. Currently, anyone who wants to sell products or raise money for a charity, including a religious one, must get a permit from Sunrise's code enforcement division.
But the recent court ruling said, "cities cannot restrict persons engaged in door-to-door advocacy," Olson wrote in a memo to city commissioners. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by members of the Jehovah's Witnesses against the village of Stratton, Ohio, where officials had a rule similar to the one in Sunrise requiring permits of solicitors.
Under Olson's proposal, those in the business world must still identify themselves to city officials and pay a $50 permit fee before they can sell door to door. But "charitable solicitation" has been removed from the law entirely.
Commissioners passed the permitting law several years ago, Mayor Steven Feren said.
"People were complaining about salespeople, vendors, religious proselytizing -- all sorts of things," he said. "Our concern was mostly a combination of privacy and security."
Commissioners will decide whether to amend the law during a public meeting at 6:30 tonight in City Hall, 10770 W. Oakland Park Blvd. Because of the Supreme Court ruling, the issue is unlikely to stir debate, one commissioner said.
"We can't have an ordinance that conflicts with law," Commissioner Sheila Alu said.
Jeremy Milarsky can be reached at [email protected] or 954-572-2020.