After five years of fighting in court, an Amish community finally got a ruling, but one that clearly violates their rights protected under the First Amendment.
A split Pennsylvania court ruled earlier this month that an Amish family, who had been using an outhouse for decades had to now hook up to the city’s sewage system at their own expense and that would also require an electric pump.
The family claims that it violates their religious rights to force them to use electricity.
Now, it is true that the family could utilize wind or solar to produce the energy needed for the pump, but the fact of the matter is that what they are doing is not bad for the land and doesn’t impose a danger to anyone. On top of that, the city requires it to be at their expense.
While I’m not one that is against electricity, this family clearly wants to remain simple and primitive and self-sufficient and they aren’t harming a soul in the process. They are dealing with human waste in a way that has dominated much of human existence, and it’s a biblical way, as well.