Posted on 03/26/2015 7:28:21 PM PDT by so_real
FAIRCHILD, Wis. (WEAU) - An Amish family in Fairchild now has a sign on their home ordering them to leave.
The court order for Amos and Vera Borntreger, along with their four young children, is for violating Eau Claire County building codes.
The family claims those codes go against their religious beliefs.
The county put up the sign, Thursday, around noon.
The penalty for not obeying that sign by leaving their home could be $2,000 dollars for every day they stay or jail time.
A group of about ten from the Amish community were gathered when the county delivered the order to the home.
Amos Borntreger tells WEAU it was all done very peacefully, but says they're not leaving.
A friend of the Amish community, John Czech, was at the house, Thursday. He says he supports the family's stand.
“I personally think that's wrongful and corrupt to make them follow beliefs against their religion, that haven’t always been established but it's probably going to take something like this to put it on the legal books so they're not restricted in that way,” said Czech.
Borntreger also says he's feeling a little uneasy about the situation and just wants to take it one day at a time by following the legal path.
He adds they're now appealing the ruling to a higher court...
The county will now decide what comes next.
Our smoke detectors are run on batteries.
Maybe install smoke detectors but not the batteries?
Without a battery it’s not an electrical device..it’s just an inert object.
Did you install smoke detectors?
Yes.
Of course they do - there are smoke detectors that run on batteries, silly. :-)
batteries store electricity....
In a news piece the other day, at the very end, it quietly said that a fracking outfit was offering the Amish generous money for their lands.
2 +2= ?
I don't know much about it, but it doesn't serve to let emotions get in the way of trains of thought.
This is issue of how far the gov. can go in the name of public safety. Vaccinations are another, while under the ACA since the gov. has decided that it must protect you from burning your house down, then it can also decide that it must protect you and your children from harmful psychological effects. Meaning that they can judge a home that teaches homosexuality is wrong, and that Climate Change is questionable, to undergo the kind of supervision and programming that now may be used for parents trying to get their kids back because someone said the kids were in physical danger.
As an aside, i notice your tag line, which is said to be fake, as it cannot be sourced to Congress, esp, since United States Congress did not exist in 1782, which is the year commonly attributed to this quote.
It seemed to have been derived from this:
Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion as well as an instance of the progress of arts in this country, and being satisfied of the care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorise him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.
The Robert Aitken Bible of 1782 was reviewed, approved and authorized by the US Congress. The war with Britain had cut off the supply of Bibles, and, on September 11, 1777, the Continental Congress reviewed a committee report, informing them that a locally produced bible may not be a viable option, due to the risk and cost of procuring the materials necessary. The committee noted, “...the use of the Bible is so universal, and its importance so great, that the committee refer the above to the consideration of Congress, and if Congress shall not think it expedient to order the importation of types and paper, your committee recommend that Congress will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the states in the Union." Congress favored the idea of importing 20,000 Bibles, in order to address the short supply. Library of Congress [2]
On Thursday, September 12, 1782, Congress reviewed a report dated September 1, 1782, from their Congressional committee, and signed by the committee Chairman, James Duane. The committee had been, “…referred a memorial of Robert Aitkin, dated January 21st, 1781, respecting an edition of the holy scriptures.” This committee had, from time to time, checked on the progress of Aitken’s work, and their report stated, “Our knowledge of your piety and public spirit leads us without apology to recommend to your particular attention the edition of the holy scriptures publishing by Mr. Aitkin.” Library of Congress [3] Next Congress reviewed a report dated September 10, 1782, from the committee, and signed by the Chaplains of the United States in Congress assembled, William White and George Duffield. This report stated they had reviewed the printing and it was found to be, “…with as few grammatical and typographical errors as could be expected in an undertaking of such magnitude.” Library of Congress [4] The outcome is listed as, "Resolved. That the United States in Congress assembled highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitkin, as subservient to the interest of religion as well as an influence of the progress of arts in this country and being satisfied from the above report (by the congressional chaplains), they recommend this edition of the bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation."
In 1783, after Aitken's Bible had begun to be distributed, Dr. John Rodgers of the First Presbyterian Church of New York suggested to General George Washington that every discharged soldier be given a copy of Aitken's Bible. Since the war was coming to a close and Congress had already ordered the discharge of two-thirds of the army, the suggestion came too late. However, Washington said, "It would have pleased me well, if Congress had been pleased to make such an important present to the brave fellows who have done so much for the security of their country's rights and establishment." [1] [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aitken_%28publisher%29
You might find another quote here from ones i have tried to source, bless the Lord.
If Wisconsin is an NFPA state and the house is new construction, the code requires hard wired smoke detectors.
“I don’t believe a smoke detector exists that does not require electricity.”
is it electrical wiring that the Amish object to? if so, what about battery powered smoke detectors?
Of course they do - there are smoke detectors that run on batteries, silly. :-)
<><><><
Exactly.
Batteries provide power to devices using magic.
I tend to want to side with the Amish too - my question would be, "What building codes are they supposed to be in violation of?"
I'm thinking we don't have the whole story - why this family and not others in the area? Are the others staying within the bounds of the building codes? If one wants to 100% back religious freedom, one must also concede that Islam must also be catered to in all its ugly facets.
Unless we know which codes are being violated, and what safety hazards they may entail, and why others seem to be in compliance despite their religious beliefs, we can't really make a rational decision - it's all emotional.
The real question is all about the legality of the building codes and whether a provision to exclude some from some of the codes may be in order - that wouldn't be a judge's decision to make if the law is on firm ground.
Yes, that's true, BUT...you don't need electricity IN YOUR HOUSE to operate battery-operated smoke alarms. Got it?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.