Friday, March 22, 2013

Jehovah's Witnesses In Puerto Rico Get Access To Locked Neighborhoods

A Puerto Rico federal district court, in a case on remand from the 1st Circuit (see prior posting), has ordered neighborhood homeowners' associations (urbanizations) that allow entry into the neighborhood only through an unmanned locked gate operated by a key, access code or beeper to provide Jehovah's Witnesses who wish to proselytize in the neighborhood access equal to that of residents.  In Watchtower Bible Tract Society of New York, Inc.v. Rodriguez, (D PR, March 21, 2013), the court said that this remedy prevents Jehovah's Witnesses' free exercise and expression rights from being limited by any time, place or manner restrictions. The court refused to decide at this time which urbanizations are legitimately using unmanned gates, saying that municipalities should first make that determination. Politics 365 reports on the decision.