"After years of going about their traditions unhindered," some Amish families in western New York state say they may move because authorities have told them they must stop employing their underage children in sawmilling, woodworking and construction-related work, The Amherst Record reports.
It is "a clash of titans — the state of New York versus God," the newspaper writes. And it is a clash that threatens "a bedrock principle of
the Amish faith, according to local church Deacon Jerome Graber."
"Old Order Amish children," the Record reports, "attend school through eighth grade, then commence vocational training with their parents, girls in the home and boys with their fathers in the family business. But if the state prohibits them from working, Amish boys ages 14 through 17 essentially are left purposeless."
" 'Our biggest teaching comes from our walk, not just our word. Our children need to be with us. They belong to God and we are accountable for what we teach them — or don't teach them,' " Graber told the newspaper.
The Record said that Amy Misisco, a state labor investigator in the Rochester office, said she could not comment on what the Amish families have been ordered to do or on any investigation into their employment practices.
The Amish are rarely in the news. When 10 Amish schoolgirls were taken hostage and shot Oct. 2 -- five died, and the five survivors have varying disabilities -- the forgiveness offered to the killer by the close-knit community captured national attention.
Poster Comment:
Leave the amish alone