Permits to preach -- Big deal?

   I usually do not post news stories, just for the fact that 1) I never have anything worth writing about and 2) I was never the best at writing. But I have information that may interest most of you.

   Some of you may have heard about our brothers in sisters in a small town of Stratton, Ohio. They are going through legal issues with going door to door. Village officials say you must get a permit before preaching. Ok, so that doesn't seem so bad. So I never put a lot of thought into this until recently. A lot of territories require that you notify village officials before you preach, no big deal. Or is it a big deal? The town of Stratton says, "If you want to solicit door to door, you have to get a permit...Permits are easily obtained from the mayor's office. They cost nothing. No one has ever been turned down." So why is there so much controversy?

   If permits are so simple to get, what's involved in getting a permit? I recently was able to talk to my circuit overseer about this. First, every residence in the town of Stratton has to fill out a "No Solicitation Form". The media claims that this form lists several different organizations, and you can simply check yes or no to each organization. The only religious organization on this form is Jehovah's Witnesses. Second, you have to apply for the permit. They require your name, address, social sercuity number, home and work phone, place of employment for the past 5 years and references. So to me it looks like this simple permit is more then just simple. It's very involved. Once you obtain this permit, you have to list every door you will be preaching at, and what you will be saying. Once all this is appoved by the mayor, you can go out in service between 9a.m and 5p.m.

   One of the many concerns that the Circuit Overseer is having is, if this town gets this law approved, every town will want to do this, in turn, the state of Ohio will have a list of every publisher, which would be a bad thing when government turns against religion. The mayor said that people move to this town just so Jehovah's Witnesses won't come to their door. But I'm sure everyone in the country will want to move to a small town in Ohio just for that reason. Give me a Break. But what are your thoughts on this? Do you have territory that is similar?