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Published: May 07, 2008 01:30 pm
Cresson closes correct door | Canvassing law would have shut out rights
The Tribune-Democrat
Common sense won out recently as Cresson Township chose not to pursue an ordinance that would have restricted door-to-door canvassing.
Spurred by some residents’ fears about strangers knocking on their doors, township leaders were developing a plan to require groups wishing to go door to door to register with police beforehand.
The ordinance would have been aimed at religious groups and political campaigners, who routinely seek out residents on their doorsteps when taking their messages into a community.
But the more the officials – and this newspaper – looked into that proposal, the more it became clear that such an ordinance would not be constitutional or pass legal muster.
“That’s a touchy area, because of freedom of religion,” township Solicitor Gerald Neugebauger said.
Amen, brother.
It’s also a matter of free speech – and both rights are protected by the First Amendment of our Constitution.
The courts consistently have come down on the side of groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Legal and constitutional protection is extended to those canvassing for political support.
“The Supreme Court made it clear,” Alex Luchenitser, senior litigation counsel for Americans United, told The Tribune-Democrat. “Someone should not have to go to a police station and register if they want to go door to door and talk to their neighbors.”
We sympathize with residents who are fearful of having strangers walking their streets and knocking on their doors. They can continue to call the police when a suspicious situation arises.
But if the township had pursued the ordinance, it could have found itself in a costly litigious situation.
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