Amish Sue Upstate New York Town Over Religious Discrimination

The Becket Fund sued Morristown, NY, and its officials in federal court Jan. 6, 2009 for religious discrimination against 11 Amish families, claiming that the town refused to issue building permits that allow the Amish to practice their religion and build homes according to their beliefs.

"The Amish, who were chased out of Europe hundreds of years ago by government harassment and persecution, are being singled out by petty officials apparently bent on chasing the Amish out of New York," said Eric Rassbach, national litigation director at the Becket Fund. "The US Constitution, and legal precedent all the way to the Supreme Court, are clear. The Amish, who are known throughout the world as master craftsmen and master builders, have the right to practice their beliefs. That includes building and living in homes that conform to those beliefs."

The 17-count complaint charges that since 2006, Morristown officials have singled out the Amish, who belong to the Old Order Swartzentruber Amish, for prosecution under local building codes, bringing more than ten separate prosecutions for building or moving homes without permits requiring battery-powered smoke detectors, certified architectural plans and other modern innovations forbidden to the Amish.