Governor Rick Perry signed into law Friday a bill that protects tenants who wish to post a mezuzah in their doorways, and other residential religious expressions.
The bill was one of the final pieces of legislation signed by Gov. Rick Perry at the end of the session Friday and prevents restrictions against “displaying or affixing on the entry to the owner’s or resident’s dwelling one or more religious items the display of which is motivated by the owner’s or resident’s sincere religious belief.” (An association may still put rules in place to restrict the size of an item or ban objects with offensive imagery or language. Full text of the bill is available here.)
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The Torah instructs Jews to keep God’s commandments “upon the doorposts of thy house,” so Jewish homes and businesses hang small boxes containing a tiny Torah scroll by entrance doors, called mezuzot. They serve as a reminder of God’s laws and some believe they also provide blessings and protection to the dwelling.
There have been a handful of recent cases in which homeowner's or apartment associations demanded tenants to remove such an expression. This bill seems like a reasonable and important protection.
