Do religious groups have the right to ring your doorbell, protected by the Supreme Court?

No longer have religious groups ringing the doorbell. . . 10 years ago I answered the front door. I had my two Black Lab – German Shepard cross (combined weight about 195 pounds) follow me to the door. Before I opening the inside door, I told them to “sit and stay” (they did that real good). Opened the inside door all the way and three ladies were at the door. I pushed open the glass door and one of the ladies jumped off the top step down 4 steps to the sidewalk.

They never came back and no other religious visitors since then.

Oh, yes they can ring the doorbell, it is protected !

@Tropical_Willie I googled it and apparently, they don’t have to get a permit (like a solicitor’s permit from the town) but that doesn’t mean they have the right to come on your property if you tell them to leave. The person who posted in the group gave the impression that they have the right to be there even if you don’t want them to be.

They have all the rights of anyone else to come onto your property and ring your door bell. You have every right to tell them to leave and not come back. If they refuse to leave, you have every right to call the police to have them removed.

Typically, the outside of your house is a bit of a legal gray area. It is your property and you can ask people to leave the boundaries. But complete strangers can come on to ring your door bell. That’s what door bells are for…for someone to let you know you have a visitor.

Just post a no trespassing sign at the entrance of your property. Else, anyone can walk to your door or your yard for that matter.

I have cameras and don’t answer if I don’t know who is at my door.
That being said, it’s sad that this is what our society has come to. Back when I was a kid, we loved having people come to our door.

I’m not a lawyer, but my understanding is there’s a legal term called curtilage that involves the property between your front door and the street, and to some degree there are different rules about reasonable allowances for other people to approach on that property under different circumstances. You can’t shoot girl scouts and UPS drivers for trespassing and self-defense from attempted burglary. Just ask Kevin Monahan. I suspect there’s a lot of nuance to the rules and case law around people knocking on doors that goes back hundreds of years (or maybe it’s actually very simple?).

@seawulf575 and @gorillapaws How do the laws change if you have a big “No Trespassing” sign?

I don’t have an issue with people knocking on my door. It doesn’t happen that often and if I don’t want to talk to them, I send them away. I don’t find this a religious vs a non-religious legal issue.

@Caravanfan I’m not a lawyer but I still don’t think you can shoot girl scouts even with a clearly displayed “No Trespassing” sign. But in all seriousness, I imagine there’s likely a lot of nuance (e.g. jurisdiction) on the topic that a real lawyer would probably say “It depends.” My guess is those details might matter more with regards to 4th amendment concerns, rather than prosecuting religious door-knockers.

@Caravanfan Putting up a No Trespassing sign would be enough, wouldn’t you think? Unfortunately it really isn’t. It gives you a ready made reason to brush annoying people off your porch like they were something the Easter Bunny left as he passed. You can readily tell them to leave and that you have posted No Trespassing. But it won’t really stop them from showing up. You can call the cops but all the cops will do is ask them to leave. I guess you could “trespass” them, have the cops give them a warning so that if they come back again they can be arrested without warning. But all that seems like a whole lot of work for minimal gain.

We put a “No Solicitation” sign on our door. It doesn’t stop the idiot people trying to sell us something. But we just point to it and shut the door in their face.

@gorillapaws I mostly see girl scout cookies sold by parents at work.

Damn. I wish the Girl Scouts would knock on my door!

Then you can knock on their door. If you can get past the razor wire.

I only get ads on YouTube from religious groups. Glad that they don’t knock on my door anymore.

My grandpa would invite them in and talk for hour’s as he was lonely.

I lived in a very large apartment complex with posted “No Soliciting” signs at every driveway and entrance to every building. I still had religious groups come to my door. I’d tell them they were trespassing. They would counter by saying they had permission. I’d say they need that in writing.

I’d complain to management, they’d agree with me, but nothing was ever done. I didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with the solicitors through legal channels so I’d just open the door, say I didn’t believe in god or the bible and shut the door in their faces. I didn’t give a shit if that was rude. They were rude and breaking the law by knocking on my door. They came 4–5 times while I lived there.

I haven’t had any religious groups come here. We did have a pest control place come knocking last spring but they were telling everyone they had permission from the Board, and they didn’t but by the time everyone found out they were lying, they were long gone.

When I saw the comment in the FB group last night, after this person posted the photo of two men in dress clothes on his doorbell camera, like I said, everyone had suggestions about who it was. Someone actually said one of the people looked like Pete Hegseth, which was funny because it did. Then last night, someone said that religious groups have the right to ring your bell, and the way he wrote his comments gave the impression that even if you don’t want the groups to come to your door, or if you don’t want them on your property, their right to come knocking supercedes your right as a homeowner or resident. That didn’t sound right. I asked for a link. In the meantime, I googled it and apparently, they don’t have to get a permit (like a solicitor’s permit) from the town, but that doesn’t mean they have the right to stay there if you tell them to leave.

I tried twice to link it. It’s a Wikipedia entry and it’s called The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., v the Village of Stratton.

If anybody can make it up the side of the mountain and down my driveway I offer them a drink in celebration.

This depends on local laws and ordinances. Where I live to sell door to door requires a solicitors license/permit. If I put up a “no solicitation” sign in my yard or by the doorbell they have to leave. It’s a little grey when it comes to the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness. I’m polite when I tell them through my ring camera to get the fuck off my yard. (I’m thinking that, I say “no thanks” or “I’m busy at the moment”)

Then there are the fucking Kirby Vacuum people. They ignore the no solicitation sign, often refuse to leave even after I have told them I don’t have any carpet. They are relentless so I’m not going to be nice. I feel bad for them, but it’s the only way to get them to leave you alone.

@smudges I was in the service with a guy who went home on leave one year. While he was upstairs the Mormons came to his parents’ door. Being old school polite, the parents let them in. The parents weren’t particularly interested in what the visitors had to say and didn’t really want them there…they just didn’t want to seem rude. So the Mormons came in and started talking with the parents. After a bit, my friend came downstairs and saw the visitors who saw him and started including him into the conversation. They, at one point, said something along the lines of “So are you a Christian like your parents?” My friend, knowing they were all prepped and ready to deal with Christians replied “No. I’m a Zen Buddhist.” The conversation came to an abrupt halt. The Mormons quickly made excuses and left. His dad looked at him and said “I wish I could have thought that quickly.”

I was also stationed in Idaho Falls for training and discovered an interesting deterrent to the visitors from the various religious groups…answer the door in your bath robe. They get embarrassed and quickly leave.

I agree you can put a no trespassing sign out on your property. I think approaching and knocking on a door is still legal, but if you had a fence and gate then it might be different.

I would say putting a no soliciting sign on your door or near your door might be better, it might be more effective.

Although, some prosthelitizers ignore no soliciting. I’ve had them show up in department Stores trying to convert employees. Maybe technically they are not soliciting, I’m not sure. For instance, the Do Not Call list addresses people trying to sell you something not people taking a poll as an example.

By the way, if you get a sales call, if you specifically say “take me off of your list, I don’t want any more calls” by law they have to take you off. It won’t help you 100% but it should help. Just hanging up on them does nothing if you are trying to use the law in your favor. I would suggest saying similar to religious people trying to convert you at your door. Tell them to please take your house off of their list, you don’t want anyone approaching your house.

I’ll add I don’t know the specifics of the law, but I’m pretty sure post people delivering mail would be an example of a “stranger” legally walking up to your door.

What’s the legal status of answering the door naked?

Suppose those three religious women had rung your doorbell, and you answered the door wearing nothing on your body. Would that be considered lewd behavior? After all, they invaded your privacy.

Is there an obligation to be dressed when answering the door?

@elbanditoroso If someone saw you naked, you could be arrested for indecent exposure. You could likely get out of it, but it could cost you thousands of dollars in legal fees

@seawulf575 but why? If I’m in my house (my castle) why am I required to be dressed?

@elbanditoroso That was exactly what the guy in the case I just cited said. He was cleaning stuff and packing stuff while being au naturel. Two women looked through his window and saw him and called the cops. He was charged with indecent exposure. The court found him guilty even though he was in his own home. He had to take it to appeals and they ruled that since he was in his own home and there was no indication he was purposely flashing people they can’t hold him guilty. So he ended up getting off, but it took him two court cases which cost him thousands of dollars.

^^^^ He should have had them arrested for being peeping-toms.

^To be fair, they were on the sidewalk and he was at the window.