Covenants.... Good or Bad?

by TR 5 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  TR

  Neighborhood covenants, that is.

  In the U.S., many neighborhoods have covenants or rules that govern what a home owner can or can't do with his/her property/home. This keeps some people from painting their house neon blue, or building a half-assed skate board park in their front yard. Some covenants won't allow a child day care, or adult care facility, mainly because of the extra traffic they may bring. Some covenants won't allow halfway houses for criminals for obvious reasons.

  My thought on this subject was to possibly add some additional rules to the covenant, such as "NO Soliciting" or any door to door activity. Just wondering if the local laws would allow such rules even if a whole neighborhood agrees to the rules. Will have to check on that one. I'm not even sure what my own 'hood covenant says. I know there is one, though.

  Any on this forum live in a 'hood with a covenant, and what are your thoughts? The obvious question is, CAN WE LEGALLY KEEP 'HOVAHS OUT.

  TR
• 

  logical

  why would you want to keep hoovers out? or do you use dysons in america?
• 

  Scully

  TR:
  

  That's an excellent idea you have.

  Perhaps the way to approach it, rather than making it an official "covenant" - which the WTS would fight in court - is bring up the subject in a neighbourhood meeting (I'm assuming there is a committee of some sort) and go equipped with Dateline and The Fifth Estate shows on JWs sending child molesters door-to-door. You can discuss with them the arrangement that the WTS has to place people on their Do-Not-Call lists. Each person in the neighbourhood would have to send a letter to the local congregation and the WTS, requesting that JWs never call at their homes, along with the promise of taking legal action (unlawful trespass) against the individual JWs who ignore the request, the congregation with which they are affiliated and the WTS itself. If your state has a Do-Not-Call Registry, find out if you can also register with this agency to further reinforce your requests that JWs refrain from calling. Since every individual in the neighbourhood voluntarily takes action restricting the JWs from entering their property, the WTS has no legal recourse.

  Check out Nic's site for "Do-Not-Call" door stickers and flyers, plus sample letters, legal info, etc.
  http://www.do-not-call.org/

  Love, Scully
• 

  TR

  Good ideas, Scully.

  I will look into when and where the neighborhood meetings are held. Wouldn't it be funny if there were 'hovahs at the meeting when I bring this subject up? Naw, any meeting besides the Dumbdumb Hall would be forbidden.

  logical,

  dysons? Neva hoid a the bum.

  TR
• 

  expatbrit

  Hi TR:

  Scully basically said it all. If you try to make your do-not-call campaign an "official" mechanism through the covenant, the WT will shoot you down in court. But, if an individual makes the do not call demand, that is an entirely different picture. Thus, if say you went to the next meeting with an armload of material on the JW's sending paedophiles to people's doors, and some pro-forma letters, and every single householder decided, of their own volition, to send 'em in to the congregation and the Watchtower, then there is really not much the WT can do about it.

  Now, here's a link to a report on Nic's site about a householder who took a JW to court after she had made a do not call request, and she won: http://www.do-not-call.org/webs/trespass.htm

  Of course, threats of legal action are pointless without teeth. So you might want to sound out a local lawyer and find out if they would be willing to take a case on in this respect (and how much it would cost, of course). Perhaps your local covenant could spread the cost?

  This is just my opinion, but this whole area of linking the paedophile at the door issue with do not call requests is an excellent, but unexplored opportunity.

  Expatbrit
• 

  RAYZORBLADE

  Yeah, those "Do Not Call" stickers etc., do they, and have they been effective?

  Anyone have any experience with these