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February 18, 2005
Promised Land
Investor's Business Daily, editorial: This article takes the typical Conservative position against eminent domain and points out that, under the current definition of "public use", churches across the nation are vulnerable to land grabbing.
It was not without good reason that the Supreme Court in 1795 called eminent domain "the despotic power." The current court could check that power if it rules correctly after it hears Kelo on Tuesday.
If it doesn't rule correctly, even churches around the country should be worried. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has filed an amicus brief in the Kelo case that lays out the problem.
Houses of worship, it explains, will be "singularly vulnerable to being taken" if the court rules for New London. Why? Because churches, in vivid contrast to the commercial developments that could replace them, generate zero tax revenues.
The Becket Fund isn't just whistling in the dark. There are cities that have actually targeted churches. And as local lawmakers' hunger for money grows, so will the trend. Unless the court makes the right ruling.
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Download the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty brief
Posted by lumi at February 18, 2005 7:20 AM