This morning, the Institute for Justice filed a major federal lawsuit on behalf of a group of monks from Saint Joseph Abby. Under Louisiana law, it is a crime for anyone but a licensed funeral director to sell “funeral merchandise,” which includes caskets.

 

To sell caskets legally, the monks would have to abandon their calling for one full year to apprentice at a licensed funeral home, learn unnecessary skills and take a funeral industry test. They would also have to convert their monastery into a “funeral establishment” by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming human remains.

 

Follow the jump for a short video about this lawsuit.

Click here to visit the Institue for Justice website for more information on this and other cases.