Separation of Church and County?
2009 May 28
According to several news stories, a San Diego couple has been fined by the county for holding a home Bible study. They were asked specifically religious questions (“Do you say, ‘Amen’?” “Do you say, ‘Praise the Lord’?” etc.) and told that doing so was in violation of zoning laws. Where is their precious separation of church and state now?
Is California so broke they are resorting to mob extortion tactics now? Will they apply this to other activities or only Christian ones? Will poker nights result in gambling establishment violations? Will mothers have to pass state inspections to have the neighborhood kids over for sandwiches?
I can smell the bull refuse from here. I hope liberal-voting Christians can too.
This is not anywhere near the big deal Christians are trying to make it. The full story can be found here.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/biblestudy.asp
Some important points:
1. The couple was not fined or threatened with a fine. They were given a warning by an enforcement officer after a complaint from a neighbor whose car had been damaged. The warning said that their Bible study constituted a religious assembly and as such required a special permit.
2. Major use permits are required for churches, synagogues and temples in almost every county in the U.S. They are needed to regulate traffic and parking issues.
3. County law in San Diego is not clear about what constitutes a religious assembly. There are no specific numbers given to determine when a gathering becomes a religious assembly that would require a major use permit.
4. The warning was overturned by County officials when they became aware of the circumstances under which the warning was given and the Joneses are free to continue their Bible studies as they were.
Even given these additional facts the basic issue is not in dispute. Hopefully this “test case” will make the SD laws more clear.