FL: A Theocratic Gated Community

In what may be an unprecedented mingling of business, government, and religion, the founder and former CEO of Domino's Pizza is building a city that will be governed strictly by conservative Catholic rules, the AP reports. The ACLU is promising to sue. Thomas Monaghan, who built Domino's, has been an advocate for introducing "God's will" into public life in America, founding both the Thomas More Law Center, a legal fund that among other missions defends the teaching of creationism, and Ave Maria Law School, a educational institution specifically dedicated to teaching America law through a Catholic interpretation. Among the limitations on the town proposed by Monaghan include proposals to ban condoms, birth control, pornography, and abortions. The city will also be built around a church and a cross standing over 60 feet tall. Monaghan is building the city in such a way that the commercial property will be under his exclusive ownership, causing the president of Catholics for a Free Choice to remark that the project is "country club Christianity." Florida Governor Jeb Bush has lent his support to the concept of the city.