Amish Men Jailed for Refusing to Mark Horse-Drawn Buggies with Orange Reflective Signs
- Posted on January 12, 2012 at 11:40pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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MAYFIELD, Ky. (The Blaze/AP) — A group of Amish men were sent to jail in western Kentucky Thursday for refusing to pay fines for breaking a state highway law that requires their horse-drawn buggies to be marked with orange reflective triangles.
This is not the first time this has happened, however.
The men have a religious objection to the bright orange signs, which they say are flashy and conflict with their pledge to live low-key and religious lives.
Ananias Byler, the first of 10 Amish men who appeared in Graves County District Court on Thursday, was sentenced to 10 days in jail. The men were jailed for being found in contempt of court for refusing to pay fines. Byler told Judge Deborah Crooks Thursday that he would not pay the $489 he owes.
“I totally understand your objection,” the judge told Byler. “But you’re in violation, and it’s not up to me to change the law. It doesn’t really matter what I think about any of this.”
The men belong to a conservative breakaway group of Amish known as Swartzentruber. They live simply, with no electricity, plumbing or appliances. But in recent years they have been running afoul of the law here for refusing to use the triangles on their buggies, and some were sent to jail last year.
The Amish men, wearing long dark coats on a snowy day in Mayfield, removed their black wide-brimmed hats before entering the courtroom. They sat quietly until their names were called.
Jacob Gingerich said he and the other men will continue to refuse to pay the fines. Gingerich owed more than $600 and was sentenced to 13 days in jail Thursday.
“We’re just not going to pay,” Gingerich, a farmer with 12 children, said before the court appearance.
Their sentences ranged from three to 13 days for fines ranging from $153 to $627. Serving the jail time will clear their fines off the books, at a rate of about $50 a day.
County Jailer Randy Haley said the men were staying together Thursday in a large holding cell. They will wear special dyed jail uniforms because they object to the orange jumpsuits, he said. The men also asked that they not be submitted to mug shots, and Haley said he agreed.
The issue over the orange triangles has come up before in other states with Amish populations. Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania have allowed exemptions for the Swartzentrubers, and courts in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan have sided with them.
But police and prosecutors in Kentucky say the orange triangles are the law because they help motorists see the buggies and avoid collisions.
“You get behind one of the buggies at night, you can’t see it,” Graves County Sheriff DeWayne Redmon said. “We’re citing them for their own safety as well as the safety of others.”
Gingerich and two other Amish men, with help from the Kentucky chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, have sued over the state highway law, saying it infringes on their religious freedom. The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case later this year after the state appeals court rejected the Amish men’s argument in June.
Gingerich said Thursday that he wished the judge would have waited for the state Supreme Court to hear the case before throwing the men in jail.
Kentucky lawmakers are considering changes to the highway law to allow the Amish to use gray reflective tape instead of the orange triangles.
Of Kentucky’s 120 counties, Graves County has recorded the most violations for failure to use the orange triangles in the last five years, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. The county has recorded 57 of a total of 89 violations statewide since 2007.
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Comments (121)
mikee1
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 6:42amHow do you know BIG GOV. is about to EXPLODE? When it goes after the AMISH. I predict that if ODUMBO INC. GETS BACK IN THAT THEY WILL BE REMARKABLY NON-PC and ORDER ALL AMERICAN QUEERS TO PRACTICE SAFE SEX AND USE condoms. But they will provide all DUMMYCRAP QUEERS WITH BIG-GOV. condoms. LOL.
Report Post »Bgroovy2
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 4:39amDo ya see the downward spiral here? First it was selling raw milk, now this! When will it ever end? Darn rebels!
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 4:16amWhat’s next are we gonna jail cyclists for not installing the orange triangle on their back ??????????
Report Post »Doris
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 4:00pmExcellent point.
Report Post »TheJeffersonian
Posted on January 20, 2012 at 1:18pmBicyclists are considered pedestrians under most laws. That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for them to wear reflectors, as thousands of bicyclists are hit by cars every year due to poor visibility on the road.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 4:07amThis is what we have devolved into? A police State that have regulations so severe they put good kind decent men in jail for not following regulations? This is BEYOND stuoid!
Stop the world and let me off!!
Report Post »WilkowonGBTV
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 8:49amI know the headline says they went to jail for not having orange on their buggys. Read the first line of the article please.
Report Post »XANCAP
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 3:53amI am so disgusted with how these men are being treated. I feel ashamed and I am not even from that state. Will they be stripped when they enter the jail? Will they be bending over as they are examined for contraband?
They are sticking to a principle and THEY are not harming anyone.
The state is taking them from their families and their work for what? Imagine how much work they need to do for their families when they have no gadgets or electricity? But, the state wants to prove a point that the Amish must obey, obey, obey? And, you think the Amish are being proud?
I think the other Amish should use 2 triangles, with one of them inverted to make a Star of David, and send a message that they are feeling persecuted by these petty ‘orange or jail’ laws.
Report Post »encinom
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 2:22pmThey are using public roads, they need to abid by the local rules. The failedt o pay the fine, they do not get special treatment, they get jail. This is a non-story.
Report Post »ReynMansson
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 3:04pmI’m sorry but NO WAY! The Amish need reflective gear or off the highways! You can’t put a near stationary black box in the middle of a lane in the dark and not have it be perceived as a safety hazard. They have the right to believe as they see fit but not when it poses a clear and present danger to other road users.
If you haven’t had regular experience with horse-drawn traffic in your neighborhood, left me tell you they are dangerous. They move at about 5 to 7 miles an hour, barely above walking speed and to an approaching driver at night moving at 50mph that is almost like being stopped dead in the road. I once traveled the roads of Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania extensively calling on businesses in small towns. This was in the mid 80s and I don‘t think there were many safety triangle laws because I was often surprised by a buggy popping up in the headlights and having to swerve or brake hard to avoid them I don’t remember seeing many orange safety signs. I also found they have little respect for stop signs and they‘re don’t like to be passed by motorcycles, especially when they’re running in a group, I’ve had them get right in the middle of a backroad trying to keep you from going around. If they must use the English’s roads them they must abide by the rules. That they contrivances are allowed on roads at all is accommodation enough.
Report Post »charleyrocks
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 3:42amIndeed leave them alone, they can jail the Amish but not the guys in religious cults living in the united states, depriving young children of education, and forced to marry old men! oh no can’t jail them!
Report Post »1moreOutnumbered
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 2:52amI worked on a flight line at night for years and can name 6 or more colors of reflective tape that aren’t orange…Just sayin
Report Post »sacwoodpusher
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 1:58amI grew up Mennonite. I do not understand the objection to Slow Moving Vehicle signs on horse and buggies. The law also requires this on the back of tractors and towed farm implements. It is for the protection of the person driving the slow moving vehicle AND the person driving a car or a truck.
I think PRIDE is involved, and that the Amish bishop should have a talk with their members.
Remember, driving is not a right, it is a priviledge.
Mr and Mrs Amish, please, for your safety and ours…….Orange SMV sign, PLEASE!
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 2:23amTrue, pride could be afoot here.
Report Post »AuntWie
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 2:29amIf you “don’t understand the objection,” then perhaps you might withhold judgement. Isn’t that what your Mennonite upbringing teaches you?
Report Post »jnpg
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 6:22amTravel is a right.
Report Post »grannyrecipe
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 6:58amGod bless you friend but I don‘t think them dudes surf the net LOL But if Obunga and the Lib’s have their way, we‘ll all be living Amish and the orange triangles won’t be necessary anymore.
Report Post »the_ancient
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 7:10amI dont understand the need for the mandated Orange,
There are non “flashy” colors of reflective tape that will alert drives just fine at night/dusk/dawn it does not have to be a big orange triangle.
Report Post »mred33
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 1:41amThese people are not bothering anyone and if drivers would use their heads for something besides a hat rack, there wouldn’t be all those accidents. All you need to do is slow down a little and look for them. You know they are on the roads, so quite trying to run them over. Also, there are other types of reflective tapes that can be used. You don’t have to have that day glow yellow just to make them safer. Any tape in the back will shine quite nicely when headlights hit them. You also don‘t need to pass them at 70mph and give them a blast of the old horn just to show them you don’t like them. These are people too. How about treating them as such……………….
Report Post »ReynMansson
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 3:22pmRegarding “other reflective products”, that is not the answer. An orange triangle is a universally accepted symbol that represents a slow-moving vehicle as a yellow triangle is a sign of caution like a yield or road condition such as a curve or a red octagon means stop. These symbols each convey a specific meaning, a square outline in the shape of a box in gray reflective tape means what? Nothing. It has no defined meaning, the orange triangle does. No, allowing just any reflective tape is not an equal answer as the required color and shape help convey a specific message, SLOW VEHICLE.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 1:29amStinks that they went to jail, but at least it’s not planting or harvest time.
Report Post »Just trying to see the bright side of this.
Just A Private
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 10:21amIts kinda wierd how going to jail eats away their fine at $50 per day in jail. If some guy owed me money I wouldn’t move him into my house, feed him, provide healthcare, do his laundry, etc. and then call it even.
Report Post »TreeTrimmerJim
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:59amInteresting… penalty is paid at $50/day until fine is eclipsed. What is the cost per day? First day with processing probably costs more than $50 and last day with processing probably costs more than $50.
What does a can of flat black paint and and a quarter pound of glass beads cost? Even black with glass beads is easily visible at head light range.
Report Post »jand777
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:53amI was in Penn. in 1989. The police were tired of responding to night time accidents due Anish buggies not being seen and ran over. They all understood there objections and thought this was the best.
Report Post »BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 1:06amDo they make the deer wear big orange triangle reflectors as well? I can’t speak for Pennsylvania or Kentucky (where the story takes place) but in Northern Maine night driving is not an activity to be taken lightly. A wreck with a moose will kill the passengers, and the eyes of the moose do not reflect light, so people pay attention and look out for animals. If you can see a deer, moose or bear at night, you can see one of these buggies. Start charging the reckless night drivers with negligent homicide and you might see the accident rate go down as well!
Blaming the buggies is blaming the victim. Horse-drawn carriages were here long before automobiles, and the roads were here before the government! It is elitist and unjust to treat horses on our roads as a nuisance. When this country breaks down (thanks to Barry and Weezy) and we can no longer afford to import fuel, we will be trying to bum rides with the Amish.
Report Post »BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:42amI lived among the Amish in Northern Maine and they are great folk; they are friendly and great businessmen. The buggies are not a hazard at all; it is the self-important a*holes who go whipping around them at break-neck speeds. It is not like they go on the interstate, they stick to the back roads. On the rare occasion that I got “stuck” behind one I kept a very safe ditance and speed because I didn’t want to spook the horses. I would just put along a quarter mile or so behind and think how lucky I was to live around such interesting people.
Report Post »AnAppealToGod
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:48amDid you know Autism and cancer are almost non existent in Amish communities?
Enough said.
Leave them the **** alone!
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:23amSo does jail time fit into that definition of low-key and religious lives?
Report Post »livedasawsj
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:19amTo many laws…
Report Post »hvy_gunner_0331
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:17amIs there any reason they can‘t use a type of marking that isn’t as flashy, say something that is muted until light hits it, and then it reflects?
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:37amMy thought also .. they sell jogging clothing and dog collars with something like that .. surely they could come up with something less “flashy” than those large orange triangles .. they would be safer and so would the motorists.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:14amSuggest a lantern hung on the back of the buggies at night.
Report Post »livedasawsj
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:18amOrca disco ball
Report Post »LeadNotFollow
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:12amIf we pay their fines, would the Amish men be released?
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:06amDo people actually really know from studying the Bible what happens when the earth is full like it is and on top of that you also piss off God Almighty. God slowly but surely wipes out every single thing until a place of Liberty can be found again.
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:05amUnder the rules of Obama’s new Reich, they will probably be imprisoned without a trial and tortured, by being made to wear jumpsuits with zippers.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:30amOrange Jumpsuits
Report Post »christos
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:03am…Leave the Amish Bee.Our +FATHER+ in Heaven is watching.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on January 12, 2012 at 11:50pmwith all the different colors of reflective tape, there is no excuse why these good people are being targeted by KY and are not given a choice what color is acceptable to their RELIGION — a Christian one that has been in America since the 1600s. and being total pacifists, they have never flown planes into our buildings either. had they been muslims, every democrat Judge in the nation would be bowing and catering to their every whim.
Report Post »BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 1:09amMan you nailed it.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on January 12, 2012 at 11:49pmIt wasn’t the orange triangles that ticked them off, it was the madatory Obama 12 stickers, and the “My other Buggy is a Volt” sticker. That is where they drew the line.
Report Post »wifezilla
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:00amBwaa haa haa!!!
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:04amLolololo good stuff……
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on January 12, 2012 at 11:47pmAre you kidding me? — Ky Drivers cannot “discriminate” Buggies from Motor Vehicles?
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 12:27amOn country roads with no lights, it is very hard to see the buggy’s after dark. Don’t be a dimwit.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 2:53amI have been there; I have seen them at night; and, I can still perceive a Buggie from any thing else! Maybe, there should be a “special” education course for those whom cannot identify the difference between objects!
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on January 12, 2012 at 11:45pmOccupy No/Orange Triangle
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