Beck Lawrence, owner of The Serpent’s Key Shoppe & Sanctuary in Hanover, is hoping to end Pennsylvania’s 163-year ban on fortune telling on cards, writes Sara Stewart for Spotlight PA.
A state law from 1861 qualifies such activities as a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison. The law was updated in 1939 and 1972 but its central concern has not changed and fortune telling for money remains a criminal activity in this state.
After being informed by a local police chief last year that telling fortunes could lead to jail, Lawrence filed a federal suit this August against the borough. In it, he alleges the statute violates his First Amendment rights.
“Not only is this outdated, but it threatens not just my livelihood, but my spirituality as well,” he said. “It says it’s illegal to pretend to be a tarot reader. I’m not pretending, I am one.”
The following suit and the media attention resulted in a groundswell of support.
“I’ve had people reach out to me from here to California, from different countries, saying ‘I’m so sorry this is happening to you, that’s so crazy, keep up the good fight,’” said Lawrence.
Read more about Hanover lawsuit and the Pennsylvania fortune telling law in Spotlight PA.
