Cub Run, USA - A woman who left the Amish community years ago is refused service by an Amish thrift store owner. The shopper claims her civil rights have been violated; the owner says that serving someone excommunicated from the church would be a serious moral offense.
That's the crux of a vexing discrimination case before Kentucky's Commission on Human Rights, testing how far the Amish can go in practicing their centuries-old faith under the modern-day mores of civil rights.
On one side is Ruth Irene Garrett, who has made a career out of writing about the life she left in books such as "Born Amish" and "Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life."
On the other is Erma Troyer, owner Troyer's Rocky Top Salvage store, about 90 miles south of Louisville. She claims that by serving someone who is shunned by the community — Garrett was repudiated by the Amish after she departed — she not only risked being ostracized herself but even eternal damnation.
"Personally, I don't feel like I did anything wrong," Troyer says.
Garrett, meanwhile, claims the shopkeeper recognized her during the confrontation two years ago and seemed to take pleasure in discriminating against her — repeatedly saying she couldn't take her money.
"She just openly embarrassed me," Garrett says. "It was so humiliating, and that really was almost depressing."
A hearing officer for the Human Rights Commission heard the case this past month and a recommendation could come early next year. In addition to unspecified damages, Garrett's complaint seeks an order requiring Troyer to serve anyone, and training to familiarize her with civil rights law.
Human Rights Commission staff attorney Emily Riggs Hartlage, who represented Garrett, said the incident was a violation of Kentucky's Civil Rights Act for denial of service in a public place for religious reasons. She said an investigation uncovered other ex-Amish who were denied service at Amish stores; she also praised Garrett for having "the courage to stand up for herself and ... assert her rights."
But Troyer's attorney said the complaint essentially seeks to force the shop owner to violate Amish doctrine, which could result in her losing her religion or her store.
"This puts her in as bad a situation as a person can possibly be in," attorney Johnny Bell said.
Donald B. Kraybill, an Amish expert at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, said Troyer is not just being stubborn. "She's really trying to be faithful and conscientious to the doctrines of her church, and if she violates them, she puts herself in jeopardy," he said.
The Amish preserve the teachings of Jacob Amman, who broke with more moderate Mennonites in 17th century Switzerland on the issue of shunning — or rejection of those in the religious community who don't keep the faith. They believe the biblical command "do not be confirmed to this world" requires rejection of higher schooling and modern technology.
Troyer's store, which sells dented canned goods and other slightly damaged merchandise, is part of an Amish enclave of 22 families in south-central Kentucky, where followers wear simple black-and-white clothes, drive horse-drawn buggies and lead lives driven by hard work in carpentry and lumber.
Troyer, a widow whose husband built her store, relies on it now to support her six children, ages 6 to 16. It has both Amish and non-Amish customers.
Garrett, 31, grew up Amish at Kanona, Iowa, but now attends a Lutheran church in Glasgow, Ky.
Even though she left the faith, Garrett still clings to Amish culinary traditions, and likes to shop at Amish stores to buy cooking items and ingredients that can't be found elsewhere.
"It's my heritage," she said. "It's the way I was brought up — canning and cooking and making things from scratch. It's the best way you can go."
Garrett said she had been turned away previously by other Amish shopkeepers, but didn't file discrimination complaints. Most times, to avoid a scene, she was taken aside discreetly and spoken to in a German dialect used by the Amish. At Troyer's store, she said, that didn't happen.
Troyer, 41, who had read "Crossing Over," recognized the author from the book jacket and asked if she was indeed Ruth Irene Garrett.
Her suspicion confirmed, Troyer refused to ring up Garrett's groceries. Garrett said the standoff drew attention from other customers. Troyer said she tried to handle the disagreement quietly and even offered Garrett the groceries for free. And she said it was Garrett's cousin, who accompanied her in the store, who was becoming confrontational.
While testifying before the commission hearing officer, Troyer was asked by her lawyer if violating Amish doctrine could jeopardize her soul. "Definitely," she replied.
Her attorney then asked what could happen to her soul, and Troyer answered, "I believe if we do not follow the rules and if we purposely would just deny all these rules, we would be going to hell."
Garrett said she hopes for a commission ruling that ends the lingering anxiety among ex-Amish when they venture into Amish stores.
But Troyer said Garrett's departure from Amish life carried repercussions: "She knew this before she left that this was one of the consequences she had to face."