[dropcap]Jews[/dropcap] of Colorado take note — your mezuzzahs are safe. And legal.
No longer will those who reside in certain condominium and apartment complexes, or covenanted neighborhoods — basically anyone who lives where an HOA, or homeowners association, makes the rules — have to worry about whether their mezuzzah is permissible.
Thanks to an amendment to a bill that passed this summer in the Colorado legislature, with bipartisan support and largely under the media radar, HOAs can no longer ban mezuzzahs or other religious symbols from being attached to residents’ door frames.
Until a few weeks ago, HOAs had full control over such matters in Colorado. Mezuzzahs — small pieces of parchment with handwritten passages from the Torah, encased in decorative cases that most Jews affix to their doorways — were among any number of other religious objects or symbols that HOAs routinely prohibited.
In some states, lawsuits ensued, triggering a process that has resulted in various legislative bodies providing protection for religious residents of covenanted communities.
In Colorado, that process began last spring when Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Jewish Democrat who represents District 6 in Denver, tried to introduce a bill into the House of Representatives that would have prevented HOA prohibitions of religious symbols.
The bill, however, didn’t make it to the General Assembly’s agenda when it reconvened in May.
However, Rep. Kevin Van Winkle, a Republican who serves as House Asst. Minority Leader — a non-Jewish supporter of Israel who traveled to Israel last year on a JCRC mission — pulled a bit of legislative gamesmanship. He attached Woodrow’s idea as an amendment to a piece of legislation called the HOA Sunset Bill, essentially a regulatory procedure that continues the state’s HOA Information and Resource Center.
The so-called “Mezuzzah Amendment” thus sailed through the House Business Committee, the full House and the Senate. It was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis on June 30, 2020.
The amendment bans Colorado HOAs “from prohibiting the display of a religious item or symbol on the entry door or entry door frame of a home or condominium, subject to the right of the HOA to limit such displays to a reasonable size or to prohibit displays that are obscene or unlawful or that threaten public health or safety.”
Presumably, Christian, Islamic or other religious symbols are similarly protected by the new legislation, although its wording doesn’t single out any specific religion, or even use the word mezuzzah. The bill defines a religious symbol generically, as “an item or symbol displayed because of a sincerely held religious belief.”
So long as such items or symbols are less than 36 square inches in total size, are not offensive, dangerous or otherwise illegal, HOAs cannot demand their removal, except temporarily in case of needed repairs or maintenance.
[dropcap]Rep[/dropcap]. Kevin Van Winkle, whose efforts resulted in the amendment’s ultimate passage, told the Intermountain Jewish News this week that his interest in the legislation was motivated by the experience of a member of the Denver Jewish community.
“I heard from some Jewish friends that a Denver-based HOA was denying my friend’s right to attach her mezuzzah to her doorframe due to bylaws that prohibit anything outside doors in that community,” Van Winkle said.
“Adding the mezuzzah amendment to the HOA sunset bill made it clear that attaching a mezuzzah to a doorframe is allowed and prevents HOAs from prohibiting such displays.”
It’s his firm conviction, Van Winkle added, that denying a citizen the right to reasonably display a religious symbol is a form of discrimination.
“I’ll always fight to preserve the freedom of each American to follow his or her own conscience, and knowing that placing a mezuzzah in the entrance of a dwelling is a central part of Jewish faith, I was proud to get this passed and defend [all] Coloradans of faith.”
Although the amendment was inspired by the mezuzzah, Van Winkle said, “central to my amendment was the desire to restore the rights of all persons of faith.”
While unaware whether Colorado is the first state to pass legislation protecting the display of religious symbols, “I do hope that other states will follow Colorado’s lead on this and defend the freedom to display a mezuzzah,” he said.
[dropcap]JEWISHcolorado[/dropcap] supported Woodrow’s and Van Winkle’s legislation from the beginning.
“We were shocked to hear that a HOA would prevent a Jewish resident from placing a mezuzzah on their doorpost,” Joe Dubroff, the federation’s director of external affairs, told the IJN last week.
“We were disappointed when it was not included in the agenda for the reconvened legislative session, but understood that this unprecedented moment meant that everyone would not be able to pass all bills as the legislature worked to provide needed assistance to the many affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
On behalf of Jco, Dubroff thanked Reps. Woodrow and Van Winkle and emphasized the importance of mezuzzahs to many within the Jewish community.
“Mezuzzahs are one of the ways that we show our faith and our pride,” he said.
“We are glad that legislators from both parties understood this to be a serious issue and that they ensured its correction.”
Copyright © 2020 by the Intermountain Jewish News