How did the San Diego County employee know enough about the situation to ask those questions in a private home?
Posted on 05/28/2009 1:30:17 PM PDT by wagglebee
A San Diego pastor says county officials have told him he needs a permit to host a weekly Bible study in his home.
Pastor David Jones and his wife, Mary, were hosting the weekly study near their church, when they say they were visited by a county code enforcement officer. According to Dean Broyles, an attorney for the Joneses, the county official asked the pastor if they hosted a regular weekly meeting in their home, and if they prayed and said "Amen" and "Praise the Lord" at those meetings.
After replying in the affirmative to those inquiries, a subsequent citation notified the couple they were in violation of county regulations, should stop "religious assembly," and needed to apply for a "major use" permit to continue the gatherings -- a process that could cost several thousands dollars.
Jones, his wife, and their attorney, Dean Broyles, were interviewed on the Fox News Channel. Broyles says the couple's rights have been violated.
"The government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion," says the attorney. "And I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they saw that here in the year 2009 that a pastor and his wife are being told that they can't have a simple Bible study in their own home."
The American Family Association has launched an online petition drive related to the incident, asking the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to immediately stop interfering with the rights of individuals to hold Bible studies in their homes.
Jones and his wife say they will continue to challenge the county's policy. About 15 people attend the weekly meetings.
How did the San Diego County employee know enough about the situation to ask those questions in a private home?
Had they been hosting a gay orgy, it would not have been a problem.
Ping to #41.
The pastor should simply tell officials this was not a religious service but a weekly wife swapping party and orgy and the problem would have been solved.
Is San Diego imitating Communist China? That’s what they do with home churches.
! ... hahaha
“This will be overturned in court.
We are not that far gone, not yet!”
Yes we are. If the state can bring ludicrous charges, charges that are patently absurd, illegal, stupid and the charges must be answered in court, and the bringer of these charges is not sanctioned in any way, then we ARE the old Soviet Union and we ARE that far gone.
Hear-hear!
Bill of Rights (First Amendment) says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
That means just what it says:
- NO law respecting an establishment of religion
- NO law prohibiting the free exercise thereof
- NO law abridging the freedom of speech
- NO law abridging the freedom of the press
- NO law abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble
- NO law abridging the right of the people to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Those things, to the untrained eye, wouldn’t seem to require much interpretation. They certainly don’t seem to equivocate much either, do they?
This is what activist lawyers and judges have done to us. It’s time to remind them who’s in charge.
The county regs were passed by Congress? When written, the First Amendment very clearly did not apply to states (some of which had official state religions). While the Fourteenth Amendment should restrict the actions of states, it's unclear what exactly the restrictions are. I think the actions of the county in this case would seem to be grossly out of bounds, but the First Amendment is not as absolute with regard to states as it is with regard to the federal government.
“the First Amendment is not as absolute with regard to states as it is with regard to the federal government.”
It is to me.
Can we get the name of the ass-clown county official who did this? It could be fun hounding this idiot out of town. These folks need to be publically shamed beyond reason...make their names and faces recognizable everywhere they go.
Due mostly to people failing to capitalize properly.
When other libs read this it will give them ideas. I like the tar and feather idea.
opps?
Oops.
Imagine coming home from work twice a week to find that the entire street is jammed with cars from one home hosting a Bible Study, clogging people's driveways and creating traffic hazards up and down the street.
I'd rather not have government involved at all but when Bible Studies become large enough to resemble a small church, some type of neighborhood law has to step in and force them to find a more appropriate meeting place.
I've seen study groups mushroom into 30-50 people events that become a major annoyance to the neighbors, particularly if these people start singing or playing loud music.
I'm all in favor of Bible studies and worship groups but they need to be either be held quietly or in more appropriate venues if they get too big.
After replying in the affirmative to those inquiries, a subsequent citation notified the couple they were in violation of county regulations, should stop "religious assembly," and needed to apply for a "major use" permit to continue the gatherings
“Thanks, the search missed it due to a completely different title and source.”
All you have to do is read FReerepublic and you would have seen it posted a hundred times.
I was in a Bible Study of this size for over a decade and we met in private homes with no incident but we also moved the venue around so the ladies would not get weary of hostessing. This was a "marrieds" group so there was maybe 4-5 cars. If you had a "singles" group where everyone drove themselves, it could create a problem.
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