Full of Grace

Alternet has its knickers all in a twist this morning over the plan by Dominos Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan to build a nice little privately planned, Roman Catholic-oriented community called Ave Maria in Florida.

The plan to create a town dedicated to freedom of Christian living — especially if it means restricting “non-Christian” activities — have understandably raised the ire of civil liberties groups.

Nicole Berner, a Planned Parenthood staff attorney, says playing favorites among companies is tantamount to restricting residents’ constitutional rights to contraceptives. “It’s our view that if Ave Maria is what it purports itself to be — completely privately owned — then the town would need to comply with the ‘company town’ doctrine.” Berner cited the 1946 Supreme Court decision in Marsh v. Alabama, in which the court held that “ownership [of a town] does not always mean absolute dominion.”

In other words, Monaghan and Barron Collier would be imposing their beliefs upon residents, since there is no difference in practice between favoring a pharmacy that agreed not to sell birth control and banning one that sold contraceptives altogether. Once Monaghan and Barron Collier open Ave Maria up to the public, the rights of citizens supersede those of the town owners. Therefore, Planned Parenthood argues that it would be impermissible for Monaghan, Barron Collier or anyone acting on behalf of the government to favor a pharmacy on such grounds. “Especially in Florida,” Berner concluded, “which has a heightened right to privacy.”

A spokesman for the town’s developer, Barron Collier, said (as quoted in the piece, which must be remembered) that just because the town is going to be built on certain principles doesn’t mean that folks who don’t adhere to those principles won’t be welcome to live there.

Above all, [spokesman Blake] Gable believes that Ave Maria is not necessarily a Catholic community. Gable stated that over 12,000 people are already interested in moving to Ave Maria, and he assured me that unmarried and same-sex couples are welcome, as are religious denominations other than Roman Catholic. Nevertheless, the criticism of planned communities like Seaside and Celebration has been that they attract affluent white families, much like the one seen on Ave Maria’s website, where Barron Collier lists the estates and multifamily residences.

What the alternet piece missed (and it’s no mystery why) is that NO ONE HAS TO LIVE IN AVE MARIA IF THEY DON’T WANT TO. Will anyone be forced to live there? Frankly, creating such communities is far and away better than trying to make EVERYONE live according to X doctrine or Y belief through law and compulsion. I don’t know why that concept is so hard to get across, and wonder if Gable didn’t make that point. No, probably not, since the author would have likely used it as one more club to bash him with. Can’t have “diversity” if you don’t force people…

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12:48 pm on April 11, 2006