re: #99 Anymouse š¹š”š·
Religion preference over the law.
Danny Masterson (āThat 70ās Show,ā noted Scientologist) is charged with three counts of rape. He additionally faces four lawsuits from women accusing him of rape.
A Los Angeles judge ruled that the lawsuits must be thrown out, and the case go into arbitration with the Church of Scientology (since the four women had ācontractsā to arbitrate disputes within the church, never mind that a contract cannot be used to cover up crime).
Danny Mastersonās arraignment on multiple rape charges postponed again (USA Today)
This is completely shameful and these arbitration agreements should not be allowed. Iād note that this DOES NOT do away with the criminal case against Danny Masterson. So he gets his space-alien arbitrationā¦he may be doing it while heās defending himself against rape charges. So this is not a complete Get Out Of Jail Free thing.
That said, this is a problem even outside space-alien cults. A lot of Evangelical churches, particularly of the Calvinist flavor, are requiring people to sign ācovenantsā before theyāre accepted into membership. BEWARE. These are legal documents and could force you into arbitration with a group that is not impartial. Moreover, these churches reserve the right to impose discipline which could have serious and deleterious effects on peopleās lives. (E.g., forcing a woman to stay with an abusive husband because the Bible only allows a marriage to end by death or adultery.)
My friend Dee Parsons has talked about this a lot at her blog: thewartburgwatch.com
My advice to people who are asked to sign a membership covenant is to run. I donāt expect thatās the case with the more vocal participants here at LGF but to the lurkersāyou donāt have to put up with this.