Texas Governor [Perry] Signs Mezuzah Law

Jewish Weekly ^ | August 17, 2011 | Editors

[Jewbacca]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a law last month that would require homeowner associations to permit religious displays on residents’ doors, including mezuzahs.

According to the law, the religious item must be under 25 inches and remain in the doorway.

The law was introduced after a Conservative Jewish couple was ordered to remove a mezuzah from the door of their rental apartment and then fined when they refused. The couple sued to be allowed to keep the mezuzah up and lost; they moved from the building when their lease was up. They then turned to Houston Rep. Garnet Coleman to help push the bill through the Texas legislature to prevent the same thing from happening to others, according to the Houston Chronicle.

[Jewbacca]

The Rick Perry Mezuzah

They say everything's bigger in Texas. This Mezuzah measures 26" tall! That is over two feet tall!

Here's the story of why we had it made:

Over the last few years we have been following with great interest the different stories of condominium boards making rules prohibiting Mezuzahs. First there was a story in Florida, then in Chicago and most recently in Texas.

Recently in June of this year (2011) Texas did something unique in passing a special law explicitly permitting the display of a Mezuzah up to 25 inches tall. This law overrides the authority of the Condo boards to ban Mezuzahs. This has come to be known as the Mezuzah Law.

After the bill was passed by the Texas legislature, the only question was whether Governor Rick Perry would sign it into law. When he did, we came up with the idea of commissioning a large, Texas style Mezuzah in his honor. We called up our friends at CJ Art in Israel and asked them to make us a very large Mezuzah from Jerusalem stone.

In order to push the envelope a bit we told them to make it 26" tall - one inch taller than is protected by the Texas law. They loved the idea and got right to work on it. It arrived in our store in Los Angeles only a few days before Governor Perry announced his presidential campaign. What timing!

Who knows, maybe Governor Perry will follow in the footsteps of former Florida Governor, Charlie Crist and hang this Mezuzah on the state house of Texas, or if he's lucky, the White House...

About the Mezuzah:

This Mezuzah is a one of a kind. There is only one in the world. It is hand crafted of one solid piece of Jerusalem Stone and measures 26 inches tall. It is pictured next to a standard 4 inch Mezuzah to give you a sense of proportion.

[Jewbacca]

I have no affilliation with mezzuzah.com.

I just got this email and drilled down on the story a little.

[the invisib1e hand]

any New Yorker knows that a mezuzah is more important in real estate than a good lawyer.

[humblegunner]

Isn’t a Mezuzah the obnoxious horn that people blow at soccer matches?

[Red Badger]

Anybody that has a 26 inch Mezuzah is just showing off!....................

[mnehring]

In before the "this is proof Perry is a NWO, Buildabear, liberal, antiChrist, puppy-eater".

(I don't know how but I have faith someone will figure it out).

[Jewbacca]

That’s a vuvuzela.

The mezuzah (cover) contains a scroll which includes the fundamental statement of faith of the Jewish people.

They’ve found 3,000 year old ones in Eqypt.

[Jewbacca]

I don’t understand.

[Jewbacca]

Ah, I see your swartz is as big as mine!

[Jewbacca]

Surely.

I just thought this was interesting:

fight against stupid homeowner’s associations and judaism combo.

That’s like a perfect storm on FreeRepublic.

[Paperdoll]

I am unaware of any law preventing a mezuzah at the entraqnce of any home. I put one on the door frame of my last house, and my front doors are always red. I also have a fish on my Infiniti. Praise God!

[Jewbacca]

Homeowners associations do it.

I’ve seen a retirement home that forbid them on the units.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I hope they’re not giving Perry too much grief for the size specification, as normal religiously proper mezuzahs are far smaller than this huge one. But it might be a reasonable size for something like a Christian cross, a Greek Orthodox icon, etc. After all, Perry had to make it religion neutral so it wouldn’t be likely to fall to a lawsuit from those pesky ACLU folks. What would an atheist do, though? Attach a blank sheet of paper to the door?

[Deb]

These renting and homeowners associations are way too intrusive and arbitrary. Perry continues to shine.

[mnehring]

Oh I agree, some people have just been silly lately.

[A'elian' nation]

“Anybody that has a 26 inch Mezuzah is just showing off!....................”
Good one :)

And I sure wouldn’t tell anyone I just had a 4” Mezuzah.

Which reminds me I just had a physical and the doc said he’d have to check my corpus collosum. So I sheepishly dropped my pants. He told me Anthony Weiner did the same thing. Go figure.

[SkyDancer]

The one on our door measures just three inches and the small scroll inside (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21) measures about an inch and a half square.

[Jewbacca]

I think they are just having a bit of fun.

I have the opportunity to meet Perry in a week or so (for a mere $2500 donation).

Tempted to buy this, go, and give it to him for the white house. (It’s one of a kind.)

He’d probably put it up.

[OrangeHoof]

Wha?? Does somebody have Mezuzah envy? Yours has to be bigger?

Just keep in mind that, by signing this law, Perry opens the door for a Christian to post a cross on the front door, a Muslim to post a religious symbol on their front door, a Satanist to post a pentagram on their front door, etc.

I’m okay with that, but I just want to see the law applied evenly amongst all belief systems.

[freedomson]

It’s a bad law.

Before you flame me, know that I have a mezuzah hammered into the doorpost of the home I OWN.

The association owns the property and therefore should be able to tell you what level of damage they are willing to tolerate.

If it were me, and having a mezuzah was that important to me, I’d find out the policy before I moved in.