The ppl calling for the gov. to step in need to be careful about what they mean. Should the gov. be allowed to tell Christians where they can build a church or Jews where they can build a temple? Should the gov. be allowed to tell me I can’t build a treehouse in a tree in my backyard even when I own the yard? Do whatever u can to stop this but dont tell the gov. they need to get involved this is not something the gov. should be doing.
“Should the gov. be allowed to tell me I can’t build a treehouse in a tree in my backyard even when I own the yard?”
Maybe not, but the fact is that the government CAN and DOES do things like this all the time. If you happen to have a wetland area on your private property you may not build on it - you may not develop it - you may not disturb it in any way. So your argument holds no water here (pun acknowledged).
In the same way, do you think Christians and Jews haven’t had buildings regulated in the past? Do you think that doesn’t happen now? When new construction is considered, we have environmental impact statements to consider, and that’s only one thing to think about. A church or a synagogue can’t just be plunked down wherever someone thinks it’s a good idea to put one in.
The fact is that we simply can’t do whatever we want on our private property. Maybe we SHOULD be able to do that but we ARE NOT able to do that.
Keep in mind that there’s a Greek Orthodox church that has been waiting for permission to rebuild at Ground Zero. Are you as agitated about that as you are about the mosque?