Amish Buggy Bill

by umer | 4:21 AM in |

Amish Buggy Bill


Amish Buggy Bill_After Amish supporters in Kentucky argued that reflective orange safety triangles was against their religion, required on slow moving vehicles such as a buggy, a bill has been passed to allow them to use silver or white reflecting tape.

Several Amish supporters in the state had been arrested and placed in jail after repeated violations of not placing the required traffic safety triangle on their horse-drawn vehicles. They are needed to make them more visible to motorists during the day and night. However, the Amish said that the triangle too closely resembled the religious symbol of the Trinity, which they are not allowed to display.

In addition, they believe that the orange triangle brings on unsought attention, which is also against their devout belief.

Lawmakers in Kentucky’s General Assembly had discussed the legislation over whether religious beliefs outweighed traffic safety. With a bit of a compromise reached with the reflective tape as an alternative the bill was passed by a vote of 75-21, after it passed unanimously through the state’s Senate last month.

One supporter Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray, said, “We’ve been able to accommodate a major issue in their lives.”

While another, Mica Sims, a Lexington tea party activist said, “It’s important to me because, I’m not Amish, but one day the government could attack my beliefs, and I would want the Amish to stick up for me.”

Meanwhile, the most outspoken counterpart for the bill, Rep Fred Nesler, D-Mayfield indicated that while the tape may work well at night, it does nothing to improve the visibility of the Amish buggies during the day. “My objection to is a safety issue,” Nesler said.

The last obstacle for the bill is whether Governor Steve Beshear will sign off on it, which will go into effective immediately.

source: newsoxy