A legal rights group is reporting that a San Diego pastor and his wife were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home.
The Western Center for Law & Policy has been retained to represent the couple, according to a WorldNetDaily.com article published Friday. The names are being withheld until a demand letter can be filed on their behalf.
The couple told their attorney a county government employee knocked on their door on Good Friday, asking a series of questions about their home Bible studies, which are held on Tuesday nights and attended by approximately 15 people.
Lawyer Dean Broyles of the legal rights group, told WND the county's action not only violates religious land-use laws but also assaults both the First Amendment's freedom of assembly and freedom of religion.
According to the report, the San Diego County official asked,
"Do you have a regular weekly meeting in your home? Do you sing? Do you say 'amen'?" the official reportedly asked. "Do you say, 'Praise the Lord'?"
The pastor's wife answered yes.
WND reporter, Drew Zahn, writes that the pastor's wife was then told that she must stop holding "religious assemblies" until she and her husband obtain a Major Use Permit from the county, a permit that often involves traffic and environmental studies, compliance with parking and sidewalk regulations and costs that top tens of thousands of dollars.
And if they fail to pay for the MUP, the county official reportedly warned, the couple will be charged escalating fines beginning at $100, then $200, $500, $1000, "and then it will get ugly."
Broyles told WND...
"The First Amendment, in part, reads, 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,'" Broyles said. "And that's the key part: 'prohibiting the free exercise.' We believe this is a substantial government burden on the free exercise of religion."
He continued, "If one's home is one's castle, certainly you would the think the free exercise of religion, of all places, could occur in the home."
A letter to San Diego County officials being drafted by the Western Center for Law & Policy to rescind the permit request should be completed and available within a couple of days, Zahn said.
UPDATE: Pastor says home bible study declared a 'religious assembly,' code violation
Comments
Seriously, what is the world coming to when you can't even have a small bible study in the privacy of your own home? I'd be livid! Sounds like people wanting to cause issues for the sake of causing issues.
I think I'd be putting a fist threw someones face if they knocked on my door saying this. It is not going to happen. We can and will fight this.
Wow- this truly is disturbing. Thanks for reporting on this.
alarming...
whatever happens, Christ's Gospel must be preached. May His protection be upon His servants.
thanks Mr. Alex for sharing this.
The official was following up on a complaint from a neighbor who had his car side swiped by one of the guests. If the gatherings are a nuisance for the neighborhood and parking has become dangerous then the state has every right to use the law to stop the disturbance. No fine has been issued. I think the gun has been jumped...
What can we do about this? Any ideas
What can we do about this? Any suggestions?
@Dave...for starters, tell others to read this story. Your support (by reading) will mean I can continue to cover this story as soon as anything else breaks.
Everything is closed up for the Memorial Weekend. Stay tuned!
Lock and lot and watch your sixes...
I hate typos...
Lock and LOAD and watch your sixes...
G LoC
Do you have a source for the 'side-swiping' allegation?
Why not have the meetings at the Church this man is pastor of? Problem solved.
Hey, you can have exorcisms in your home and I wouldn't care as long as you don't take all the parking spaces in the neighborhood every Tuesday. This isn't a "big brother" story -- it's s ticked off neighbor. Stop being so paranoid. Jeez....
"The official was following up on a complaint from a neighbor who had his car side swiped by one of the guests. If the gatherings are a nuisance for the neighborhood and parking has become dangerous then the state has every right to use the law to stop the disturbance. No fine has been issued. I think the gun has been jumped..."
If that's the case then why did the official care about the reason for the meetings? Why did he want to know if they sing and say Amen? That makes no sense whatsoev
Sounds like there has to be more than is reported here. A bit one sided in the reporting ... seems to only follow what the host said.
How did this all start? Why was the officer there in the first place? I've hosted and attended Bible studies in homes, appartments, coffee shops, restaurants ... and I have never seen a problem like this.
If the post about the parking problem is legitimate, it makes sense that it would have to be dealt with. If it is seen as a religious service instead of a
WorldNetDaily? Where are some valid sources for this overwrought story? And what government official would pursue a line of questioning like that? I smell baloney here.
So when the neighbors have BBQ then these Christians can make a call to the county as well! Its a load of crap and the public street is assessable to all not just the neighborhood liberals. I live across from a church and I deal with it every Sunday and Wednesday night.
So if i get sideswiped I can blame the church goers? Give me a break, its all politically motivated and their is no special privileges people get for parking.
I personally would have beat the county official down... I'm read
This is so silly. Why can't neighbors talk to one another anymore? You are probably right, Vinnie, about a ticked-off-neighbor losing his parking spot. It is amazing what a few KIND words can do. Sometimes the mis-use of the law can act like a crazy bull-dozer.
Worldnetdaily is a one-sided, paranoid, joke of a source. I agree, I'd like to see some reliable proof of this problem even existing. IF this happened, it is, indeed, a miffed neighbor. If parking was an issue, the offended party should have had the cahones to discuss it like big boys and girls with their neighbor. Someone who posted here said they should just have the Bible study at the church where the pastor preaches... the very reason for the home study is to get together a few friends in a
The posts advocating violent reactions are sad and hardly the Christian response.
Agreed that the annoyed neighbor should have confronted it directly, but I doubt he would have said anything if the Bible study participants had been respectful. I routinely host Bible studies in public settings in highly liberal areas and have never had a problem. My bet is still that the host or participants did something to set this off.
well think of this... this is just the beginning of what is going to continue to take place as we reach more into the end times... satan's time is short and he knows it... he will be fighting and devouring as much as he can... i say... COME LORD JESUS QUICKLY!!!!!
@Auntiebeefy - What makes you think this is the end times? What makes you think this is the work of Satan at all? It sounds like a minor disagreement over the location of a gathering. If circumstances like a lack of parking make the neighborhood an unfit location for the Bible study, I hardly see that as Satan's work. I see it as a need for a bigger facility for a growing congregation!
The only disturbing thing about this is that BOTH sides of the story are not being reported. What is the county's position? What is the law that is in place concerning religious gatherings? Why was it put into place? Why did the official come to the house in the first place? Where they being spied on or was there a disturbance reported by a neighbour whose driveway was blocked?
Perhaps religious persecution is happening here...perhaps it isnt. One certainly can't tell from the information given
@Mike in SD...
You are right...there are missing pieces. However, this is all the information available to the press at the time of this article's publication. Believe me, I know!
If the Bible study is blocking traffic (nuisance) then the county has the right to ticket the owner of the vehicle. If the Bible study is too loud and is violating noise ordinances, then the county has the right to ticket for that infraction (nuisance).
However, the county has no right to prevent the Bible study from meeting in the house.
Why would the official need to ask questions like, "Do you praise the Lord?" if they were being a nuisance?. They are being persecuted. It's that simple.
We still do not know the full context of the questions. Perhaps the home owner asked for an explanation of what was meant by "religious assembly". A routine, formalized event - such as a religious assembly - where parking is more than the neighborhood cam handle is a problem. The county can manage the problem (ie overflow of parking) regardless of the nature of the meeting. It's quite simple, really.
Also, if you watch the video from the news segment - you cannot tell me that 15 cars safely park on that driveway with no spill over onto the street, which appears to have no parking area. My guess - people just pull up around the driveway and block the street. That's a problem. Perhaps carpooling will do away with this problem!
As Christians, we need to attend to this kind of activity. Look at history (that is why we study it in school) and you will see that this mimics behaviors of developing totalitarian states. I am afraid for our freedom! This is just the first step of a greater loss and we need to respond. Be thoughtful and hold true to our values, but do not permit government to take this away. We are the government and need to take steps to abolish control of our rights.
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