One City Under God

From AlterNet:

Welcome to Ave Maria. Tom Monaghan, the Domino's Pizza magnate, has invested at least $250 million to build a town based on strict Roman Catholic principles. Monaghan has teamed up with developer Barron Collier Co. to develop Ave Maria around a cathedral and the first Roman Catholic university to be built in the last 40 years. Monaghan envisions Ave Maria will encompass his conservative beliefs, and he and Barron Collier will control all of the town's commercial assets, notably the real estate.

And

Still, when asked whether Barron Collier would favor a pharmacy that agreed not to sell birth control over one that did, Gable replied, "We'd go for the one that wouldn't sell, only out of respect to Mr. Monaghan and the wishes of the university."

Nicole Berner, a Planned Parenthood staff attorney, says playing favorites among companies is tantamount to restricting residents' constitutional rights to contraceptives. "It's our view that if Ave Maria is what it purports itself to be -- completely privately owned -- then the town would need to comply with the 'company town' doctrine." Berner cited the 1946 Supreme Court decision in Marsh v. Alabama, in which the court held that "ownership [of a town] does not always mean absolute dominion."

In other words, Monaghan and Barron Collier would be imposing their beliefs upon residents, since there is no difference in practice between favoring a pharmacy that agreed not to sell birth control and banning one that sold contraceptives altogether.

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When Tara first posted about this "city on the hill" last month, she asked several sardonic questions which essentially amounted to one big genuine question: what with, you know, first amendment rights and all, how are they going to pull this off? I think that Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and other civil rights groups' interest in Ave Maria makes the answer plain. They're not going to pull this off. My guess is that what will happen is that the developers are going to do everything they can, exploiting loopholes, dragging out court cases as long as possible, you name it, to come as close to the edge of what is Constitutionally permissible as possible, crossing over as much as they can. Meanwhile, Ave Maria will become something of a lightning rod for attack by civil liberties groups. I guess the downside of being a "city on the hill" is that you make yourself something of a target, out there in the open and all. Who the hell wants to live in a place where tax dollars are continually drained by no-win judicial fights? I'll tell you who. Religious nuts.

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