Wow, see what happens when you come home from work early?
Frank Haas has filed a lawsuit against Charlie Montgomery and Charles F Coleman and the Grand Lodge of West Virginia for his expulsion from Freemasonry.
Read all about it here:
http://masonic-crusade.com/gallery/1/Binder1.pdf
Interesting, I wonder if this is the first time that a brother has sued a Grand Lodge, and what precedence it would set if he would win.
6 comments:
So Haas is now bringing the profane courts into the mix? So much for his support of Masonic jurisprudence, which he, I assume, used to support as a GM.
Well, in reading the suit one can see this:
For all of the Masons in the South who refuse to acknowledge PH or accept African American members, your non-profit status could be pulled if you refuse to comply with State laws. Further, once the courts begin poking around they may find other things that need changing.
However, I suspect that most of the useless old fossils who have refused change thus far would rather see the whole thing burn down than do what is right while they are still breathing. They won't let change happen untill they are fitted for their dirt suits.
Why is it that one who fights back from a grievous wrong is always portrayed as the bad guy. Expelled illegally without a Masonic Trial in an unprecedented move never before seen in the annuals of Freemasonry, Frank Haas, now a private citizen, is being criticized for taking the only choice left to him by the nefarious tools of corruption who wronged him, legal action.
I have said many times before, if Mainstream Masonry does not learn how to police itself, then the government will do it for them.
You can't sh*t all over somebody and expect him to take it lying down. Once expelled by a Grand Master what is left to fight back with other than the civil legal system? He no longer has access to Masonic jurisprudence. The little Hitler in the Grand East canned him with no recourse.
And Why, Squire, do you come down on the side of someone who has BEEN EXPELLED from the Fraternity? To my understanding, the facts aren't in evidence yet. There's been no testimony, heck, there's been no depositions yet - we have no idea what the facts are as the jury will see them. Hou may well be right, but so far, all I know about this case is what I've read on blogs... hardly authoritative sources.
I've heard, that Haas was summarily booted without due process and that bothers me, but I don't presume to know the facts and frankly, I am alarmed that the membership issue is in the courts. But "unprecedented" is a very strong word, and I doubt very much that this expulsion is unprecedented. I don't agree with denial of Masonic due process, but I certainly don't think it is the first time it has ever occurred. As for bringing the matter into the law courts - just imagine the field day a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit would have if they get it in their heads that they must "bring Masonry into [their idea] of the 21st Century." And no, I don't mean that I support the Southern Grand Lodges keeping men of color out of Masonry. But what I do mean is that Masonry can, and ought to, govern itself. I do not agree that the solution is another layer of government. Perhaps the changes you seek - and I seek - aren't coming as fast as you & I wish them to, but they will come without intervention from the profane courts.
Former GM Haas may indeed have viable causes of action against whomever it is he claims defamed him, caused him emotional distress, etc., and once the facts are before a jury - he certainly could be awarded a judgment, and I have no problem with that on the tort claims. The problem is that if a profane Court once is allowed to meddle in our internal affairs - to tell the Craft who can be a Mason and who cannot they'll be dug in like an Alabama tick and they'll be no shedding them.
Hello women, goodbye self- government. I'm sure there are some - perhaps many - who are praying for that day, but I will have none of it. And as for the long arm of the government being the be-all, end-all of Masonic reformation: if you think you have problems with masonic government, just wait till Congress and the Courts get to tell you what to do in Masonry.
I cannot imagine how trading one tyrant in Charlotte, WV for 685 tyrants in Washington, DC is in any way preferable.
this is what happens when no checks and balances are in place.
The Grand Lodge exists to serve the Lodges, not vice versa, and until this is remembered by future generations, abuse will not be an isolated incident.
More power to PGM Haas.
What will the profane courts bring to this?
No cronyism or a circus attitude towards finding truth.
Break out the spotlight.
All that had to be done was a fair trial and all this could be water under the bridge. Since that didn't happen Frank Haas had no other choice. Since according to the GL of WV he is no longer a MM where else could he turn. All GL's (PHA and MS) better take notice that if you don't follow the laws that the GL has in place, the civilian courts will help you.
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