Monks Fight to Sell Caskets in Louisiana
30th May 2012
Abbot Justin Brown of the St. Joseph Abbey never thought about the casket business, despite the fact that the abbey has made them for years, but as the abbey must support itself, the monks invested in the necessary equipment and added casket-building to their routine, the Post reported.
But due to the state law, the abbey must either give up the business or get licensed, which would require a display area, a layout parlor, employment of a licensed funeral director and even an embalming room. So with the assistance of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian civil liberties law firm that challenges “the government when it stands in the way of people trying to earn an honest living,” the monks went to federal court.
In a July ruling, U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr., said Louisiana’s restrictions were unconstitutional and held “the sole reason for these laws is the economic protection of the funeral industry,” the Post noted. Judge Duval pointed out that consumers can buy a casket online from Wal-Mart or Costco, but not from an in-state manufacturer.
Crapitalism red in tooth and claw.