EBENSBURG, Pa. -- State prosecutors wrapped up their case Thursday
against more than two dozen Amish who refuse to put orange-and-red reflective
stickers on their horse-drawn buggies.
Sect members have been cited repeatedly by state police for refusing to attach
the "slow-moving vehicle" emblems to the buggies. One man was jailed
for three days for refusing to pay the $100 fine.
The Swartzentruber Amish use gray reflective tape and a lantern on the rear of
their buggies. They believe the insignia required by the state is gaudy and
takes their fate out of the hands of God.
Defense attorney Donna Doblick argued Thursday that the state safety law is
unconstitutional and cannot be forced upon people who shun technology.
"Our country has sped up around these people, literally and
figuratively," Doblick said.
"They can either keep up with the changes around them and put an
orange-and-red triangle on their buggies so that the people zipping by in their
SUVs will know they're there -- but violate their core religious beliefs in the
process -- or they can find somewhere else to live," she said.
Members of the group, which migrated three years ago from Ohio to Cambria
County east of Pittsburgh, say they will pull up stakes and move to another
state if they lose the case.
The state requires the reflective triangle on all vehicles that don't exceed 25
mph.
Prosecutor Heath Long said the state is simply trying to prevent fatalities where
the Amish and modern society converge.
"Why do people in Pennsylvania use this (symbol)?" Long asked.
"It's simple. Because it saves lives. That is the compelling
interest."
Cambria County Judge Timothy Creany said safety will be central to his decision,
expected next week, on whether to require the sect to use the triangles against
their wishes.
"If we're trampling on your religious rights, we have to have a very
compelling interest," he told members of the Andy Weaver clan.