Occult arts still illegal in Canyonville, Oregon

[muriel_volestrangler]

CANYONVILLE — A business owner’s wish to teach astrology resulted in people expressing their fears of satanism at a Canyonville City Council meeting Monday night.

More than half of the council chambers’ 24 available seats were filled with people speaking for or against repealing an ordinance prohibiting the practice of occult arts.
...
Like Kolson, some said that allowing the occult arts could lead to more sinister things beyond teaching astrology. Jim Garrett, of Canyonville, compared the occult arts to opening a “house of prostitution.”
...
“If (repealing the ordinance) brings in occult practices, it will develop into satanism, which practices the skinning of cats or whatever,” Hitt said.

http://www.nrtoday.com/news/local/south_county/canyonville/occult-arts-still-illegal-in-canyonville/article_c354bed9-9928-5604-90f8-f92db7bcb63d.html

Well, you know what it's like, some crazy law that was enacted eons ago stays on the books, and finally modern times catch up and ...

"The ordinance, enacted in 1982, prohibits fortunetelling, astrology, phrenology, palmistry, clairvoyance, mesmerism and spiritualism."

Well, obviously, they got rid of it, what with the arguments for keeping it being the fearmongering above and things like "I think if we open the door to occult arts, we’re bringing in something that could jeopardize our children" and "what about if they want to sacrifice babies, too, Dale? That’s a religion, too." ...

" the councilors voted to send the ordinance back for a review by the city attorney."

Oh well. I guess "we'll let someone sane take the decision" is better than "the crazy inhabitants think astrology classes will lead to skinning cats and baby sacrifice, so we better not start down the slippery slope".

Via Friendly Atheist.

[WheelWalker]

1. Canyonville is 30 miles south of me. I try to avoid south county if at all possible.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. It's amazing how long bigoted ordinances like this

can stay on the books. Astrology = skinning cats and sacrificing babies, lol! Religious freedom for me, but not for thee.

[struggle4progress]

6. ... the Canyonville ordinance .. does have exemptions. The law itself .. allows folks to practice

the occult if it's part of a fundraiser for any local "school, church, fraternal, charitable or other benevolent organization." It also doesn't ban the activities if they're part of a religious service ...
Astrology class is a gateway to Satanism, Canyonville residents say

[Act_of_Reparation]

3. If I've done the math correctly...

Asking an imaginary father figure in the sky for guidance: Good. Does not lead to the skinning of cats or whatever.

Looking to inanimate balls of incandescent plasma for guidance: Bad. Leads to the skinning of cats or whatever.

Heavy metal music:

[Vogon_Glory]

4. And how about those wiseacres who transform bread and wine into

Flesh and blood? Are these laws meant to be used on them, too?

[struggle4progress]

5. ... a 1982 city ordinance .. banned .. "clairvoyance, mesmerism,

spiritualism or any other practice or practices generally recognized to be unsound and unscientific" in addition to .. palm-reading ...
Astrology class is a gateway to Satanism, Canyonville residents say

... She found the ordinance under the consumer protection section of the city’s codes ...
Occult arts still illegal in Canyonville

[struggle4progress]

7. The self-proclaimed friends-of-science are outraged by a consumer-protection ordinance

that prohibits charlatans from fleecing the public with businesses based on pseudo-science?

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. If we were to start banning "practices generally recognized to be unsound and unscientific"

that would open a whole can of worms that religions wouldn't like. It's one thing to criticise a practice, it's another to make it illegal.

But the people of Canyonville aren't complaining about people profiting from gullibility; they're wittering on about skinning cats and sacrificing babies.

[struggle4progress]

10. Are you a libertarian? Is it your view that there should be no regulation of for-profit schemes,

including those that prey on people's anxieties and confusions?

There are all manner of consumer-protection laws regulating for-profit practices: in the US, this includes (for example) providing medical or psychiatric services and the marketing of food products or drugs, all of which involve effective restrictions on practices regarded as unsafe, unsound, or unscientific

Regardless of who might have actually appeared at the recent Canyonville meeting, and regardless of what those people might have said, the existing Canyonville ordinance seems to be codified as a consumer-protection ordinance, imposing some restrictions on for-profit activities

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. If you don't care what the people said, then your points seem a red herring

Because that was the meat of the OP.

Your examples are about safety, not about the scientific basis of a produce or service ("unsound" is a far too woolly word to help; it has no place in any legal definition).

[trotsky]

9. ...

“What about if they want to sacrifice babies, too, Dale?” Garrett asked. “That’s a religion, too.”

[struggle4progress]

11. I expect Canyonville cannot prevent Elona Wong from conducting free astrology classes

If Wong wishes to conduct for-profit astrology classes, then the question --- Whether Canyonville can restrict her --- may depend on any of a potentially-large number of issues

[Lordquinton]

13. "Enacted in 1982" at the height of the Satanism scare

One thing I want to know, this is counting Satanism as a spiritual practice and religion, but in another thread we're being told flat out that it's a parody... Which is it?