Ministers Voice Opposition to Fortune-telling

Local ministers united Monday to tell City Council they don’t want fortune-telling in Aberdeen, despite an ordinance passed two weeks ago permitting it.

But Alice Barrington, the “intuitive counselor” who wants to open a shop on Route 40 that offers tarot card readings, said Tuesday afternoon that she looks forward to opening.

The council voted 5-0 Feb. 14 to approve an ordinance allowing fortunetelling.

Some council members said they reluctantly consented to allowing fortune-telling and other "occult" businesses, but had not choice because prohibiting the practices was recently ruled a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.

At Monday's meeting, Councilwoman Ruth Elliott said: “We don’t like it, but it is what it is. We’re compelled by federal law to allow it.”

“I understand now that you had no other choice, but I want to make it public, my disapproval,” Ben Cordle, pastor of Bible Baptist Church, told the council. “When I first heard, I got very upset.”

Fortune-telling had been prohibited under Article III of the Peace and Good Order section of the city code.

But based on case law, the city cannot forbid such practices, City Manager Douglas Miller has said.

Elder James Zachery of the Breath of God Christian Fellowship Church said the city should fight fortune-telling because such businesses can enable fraud.

“It preys on the unsuspecting,” Zachery said. “It’s not healthy for the city.”

Zachery gave the council an envelope that he said contained a petition signed by 300 people who oppose fortune-telling in Aberdeen.

Barrington said those who oppose the practice don’t have to use her services.

“They don’t have to have their cards read,” Barrington told Patch Tuesday. “I have a lot of clientele anxiously waiting.”

Mayor Michael E. Bennett said at the meeting that he could understand the public’s uneasiness, but the city won’t get caught in a legal battle.

“We share your same concerns,” Bennett said.

But, the mayor added, “We are required to go by what the law says.”