Amish Don’t Do Orange

Hunting

Two Amish hunters who were fined $50 each for failing to wear bright orange safety clothing cannot be true to their religion and obey the law, their lawyer told an appeals court Tuesday.

Samuel Bontrager, 38, and his brother Joas Bontrager, 29, of Mount Victory, Ohio, belong to the conservative Amish Swartzentruber sect, whose members have no cars, electricity, indoor plumbing or motorized farm equipment.

“They have to remain separate from the rest of the world,” the brothers’ lawyer, Scott Smith, told the state District Court of Appeals. “They do that by the clothes they wear. Bright colors violate their religious beliefs because it associates them with the rest of the world.”

Assistant Attorney General Chris Jones said the law is intended to prevent hunting accidents and does not single out the Amish. Also, he noted the Bontragers are not compelled to hunt.

The court is expected to rule within a few months.

The Bontragers were cited by a wildlife officer in 1994 while hunting deer on their father’s farm.