Diana and I used to have discussions on whether one should boycott Domino’s Pizza on principle, since the former owner of Domino’s, Tom Monaghan, is a hard-core Roman Catholic activist who donates lots of money to anti-abortion causes.

Well here’s the most recent news story on Monaghan’s activities:

NAPLES, Fla. – If Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan has his way, a new town being built in Florida will be governed according to strict Roman Catholic principles, with no place to get an abortion, pornography or birth control.

The pizza magnate is bankrolling the project with at least $250 million and calls it “God’s will.”

Civil libertarians say the plan is unconstitutional and are threatening to sue.

…During a speech last year at a Catholic men’s gathering in Boston, Monaghan said that in his community, stores will not sell pornographic magazines, pharmacies will not carry condoms or birth control pills, and cable television will have no X-rated channels.

Homebuyers in Ave Maria will own their property outright. But Monaghan and Barron Collier will control all commercial real estate in the town, meaning they could insert provisions in leases to restrict the sale of certain items.

“I believe all of history is just one big battle between good and evil. I don’t want to be on the sidelines,” Monaghan, who sold Domino’s Pizza in 1998 to devote himself to doing good works, said in a recent Newsweek interview.

Of course, private developers can establish various covenants and deed restrictions on incoming home and business owners, and although I may be morally opposed to certain deed restrictions, I do not oppose the legal right of the developers to implement them, provided that they are part of a voluntary contract process.

What’s unclear to me from the article is whether any of these restrictions would be binding on property owners who have not agreed to them. If so, this would definitely be a step in the wrong direction.