Amish Bridle at Buggy Rules [View all]

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Sect Cites Religious Freedom in Case; State Says Reflective Signs Prevent Crashes.



Updated March 16, 2012, 10:08 a.m. ET
By STEVE EDER

FRANKFORT, Ky.—For 13 days in January, Jacob Gingerich sat in a county jail in rural Kentucky after refusing to do a seemingly simple thing: affix an orange safety triangle to the back of his horse-drawn buggy to warn drivers of the slow-moving vehicle.

On Thursday, the cases of Mr. Gingerich and nine other members of an Amish sect ended up here before the Kentucky Supreme Court, another in a series of conflicts between religious beliefs and government that have been playing out around the country.

Mr. Gingerich was ticketed for violating state traffic law and refused to pay the associated fines and fees. The 40-year old is a member of the Swartzentruber Amish, a strict sect who stress modesty and simplicity and say the triangle violates their code against garish displays.

"I don't have to pay them to prosecute me for my religion," said Mr. Gingerich in an interview. He and the eight others were thrown in jail in Graves County, Ky., on charges of breaking the traffic law.

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