FLASHBACK: Just when you thought the Amish couldn't get any more flamboyant
A group of Amish in Ohio have teamed up with Harvard Law to challenge a new law requiring animal-drawn buggies to feature yellow flashing lights. Battle Line initially covered the story - and some Ohioans’ concerns over the issue - when the proposal passed out of the Ohio House of Representatives in December 2020.
Published December 11, 2020 | The Ohio House of Representatives Wednesday passed House Bill 501, legislation that would require flashing lights on the backs of Amish buggies.
Supporters say the move will enhance safety on Ohio's roadways for both the Amish and passing motorists.
But critics fear the legislation will add yet another frill to a community already highly criticized for its overt, aggressive and occasionally in-your-face flamboyance.
"I'm all for self-expression, but seriously the last thing Holmes County needs right now is for the Amish to be even further emboldened," said Reggie Page of Loudonville. "I mean, some of the colors they wear are just blinding, and I still can't get the glitter out of my yard from when a couple of Amish teenagers passed out drunk beside my mailbox last week. And now, flashing lights on their buggies? Enough already!"
Just this year alone, more than a dozen complaints have been filed against Amish families in Holmes and Ashland counties for, among other things, breaking noise ordinances, holding Amish Pride parades with no permit and having ravenous, day-long orgies in a neighboring haymow without permission.
"We're loud and we're proud. So what?" said Elijah Hochstetler, an Amish mushroom farmer who moonlights as a Jell-O wrestling referee. "What are these people so afraid of? It's like they're stuck in the 1850s. Times have changed, and it's time the rest of Ohio let its beard hair down every once in a while. The sooner this state embraces free love, soulful music and mind-expanding drugs, the sooner we'll all be better off."
