| Libertarian Party of NY -- Press Release -- Libertarians "Protect Houses Of Worship From Seizure" |
The Town of North Hempstead condemned St. Luke's Pentecostal Church using the eminent domain law in the name of "community revitalization." Cooper was outraged to read a newspaper report that a Town Zoning Board official said that "We have enough churches here in New Cassel." Rallying the Libertarians to aid St. Luke's, Cooper says the Libertarians reject eminent domain abuse and "urban renewal" programs as violations of rights and destructive of communities. He charges, “"Instead of protecting the people's right to property, the government is conducting legalized theft.”
Responding to threats to houses of worship by eminent domain backed with Federal funds, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) sponsored a bill to bar the use of Federal funds in such cases. Congressman Paul learned of the efforts of the Libertarian Party of New York's Nassau County chapter on behalf of the bullied poor church. Although Paul’s measure passed in 2000, the bill it was attached to did not. It has not been reintroduced. In New York, acting on advice of Attorney-General Spitzer, Governor Pataki vetoed an eminent domain reform law which would have required municipalities to notify property owners of the hearings considering eminent domain. The Libertarians have condemned Spitzer and Pataki for this. --30-
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