http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/02/catholic.town.ap/index.html
Above is the link to a story on CNN about Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan and his plight to create the first American city to be ruled by Roman Catholic standards -- i.e. no birth control, abortion, porn.
I realize that if you don't want to comply with such standards you shouldn't move to this town. But can a person really create a township such as this? The legal implecations/contradictions are countless. Surrounding cities will be affected. The government claims that Ave Maria (the name for the township) must still comply with all the laws and freedoms of the United States. I'm not comfortable with such a township existing. I feel that every person has free reign to decide what they personally believe, but to deny freedoms in a certain geographic area seems to go too far.
Then by all means don't move there.
P.S. You're free to embrace it or not, but Catholic doctrine isn't an "ideology".
The you better not move to a subdivision with a restrictive covenant. They have rules about when you must put your garbage out, what kind of colors you can use, and even when you mow your lawn. No freedoms are being restricted, unless you tell me I can't live in an area that shares my beliefs.
As already stated, you don't need to move there. Second, I didn't realize that a town, probably at least a couple hundred miles from anyone who cares, could be a threat just by existing. There are rules in many places that could be oppressive. In the appartments I live in, I can't do my laundary past 10pm. Is this violating my right to live as I want. No, not really. Everyone knows that this new town's set of beliefs wont become the basis of all government. Also, one last thing, in many writings by the founding fathers the idea of church and state seperation, was to seperate the state from the church, not the other way around, they wanted to avoid an established religion like what England had done with the Church of England, where the king was the pope.
The issue at hand is not is it right or wrong. The issue is can they legally do this. I realize that if you don't want to live by these standards then by all means don't move there. As far as I know, the region is uninhabited at the moment so no one will be displaced. Regardless of the will to live a specific way and the agreement of everyone to live by such standards they are still denying freedoms to American citizens and that is illegal. I don't necessarily disagree with this but I'm afraid it's not legal.
Actually, it is legal. As long as the laws do not violate the written law set forth by the US Constitution or the State Constitution then the local laws are legal. I was not aware that birth control or abortions were "rights" written into the two Constitutions just mentioned. The courts interpret the law, if they decide that the local laws do not violate Federal or State law, then the city laws must be allowed to stand.
From the article, I was under the impression that this hadn't been worked out as of yet. Mr. Monaghan is still in sessions with his lawyer trying to determine the legality of Ave Maria.
If it is still in discussion in regards to its legality, then there is no reason to be worried. If it is not legal under both Federal and State Constitutions then it wont happen and there is no further discussion needed. If it is legal, and it can be done, then there is no further discussion needed because it will be legal in both Federal and State. And then those who have a problem with it wont move there.
No worries here. I have no plans to move to Florida much less Ave Maria. I was merely curious as to how others equated the legality of the situation. Should/Can government allow this?