“On Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house, and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious assembly, and in violation of the code in the county.” David Jones told FOX News.
“We told them this is not really a religious assembly — this is just a Bible study with friends. We have a meal, we pray, that was all,” Jones said.
A few days later, the couple received a written warning that cited “unlawful use of land,” ordering them to either “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit,” the couple’s attorney Dean Broyles told San Diego news station 10News.
Couple Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit
Apparently, the freedom of assembly comes second to the zoning rules of San Diego, CA. This is the same freedom of assembly that is recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations), the United States Constitution, and even the state constitution of California Article 1 Section 3 Subsection a.
This further reconfirms my prejudice that zoning boards are nothing but power hungry land grabbing bastards. Property rights are what make free societies work, eroding them erodes the base of a free society.
eh… luv it
UPDATE: County won’t force permit on Bible study leaders
Mike Spencer over at Internet Monk has put together a great post laying out some of the real issues that have to be addressed in this case that go well beyond simple jerk zoning officials. I highly recommend.