Soothsaying Returns to Livingston: Parish Yields to Court Striking Down Prohibition on Palm Reading, Clairvoyance, “And the Like”

I predict palm readers will soon appear in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. Alright, I had a little help from a federal court in New Orleans. A court has ruled that the parish prohibition on soothsaying, fortune telling, palm reading, clairvoyance, crystal ball gazing, mind reading, card reading “and the like” is unconstitutional. Now, the parish government has voted to rescind the law and allow the tarot cards to fall. Other cities are following suit in addressing these prohibitions.

The decision in Gryphon’s Nest Gifts, Inc. v. Parish of Livingston, (MD LA, Oct. 7, 2008) prompted the action. The ordinance was challenged by a business that caters to the spiritual and educational needs of Wiccans and other pagans. There are an estimated 100 Wiccan members of his faith residing in Livingston Parish.

I could have predicted the outcome of this case. It is shame that the parish decided to spend public money to advance such a weak case in federal court, but then again this may be the result of lacking both legal judgment and fortune telling capabilities. Now, they will have one of the two.

Livingston is not alone. St. Johnsbury, Vermont recently lifted its ban.

In Philadelphia, officials launched a crackdown on such businesses after discovering a little known law prohibiting soothsaying, palm reading etc.

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