Replying to a message of John Massey to Ross Cassell:

 RC>> Couple Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit

 RC>> Thursday , May 28, 2009

 RC>> Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot
 RC>> invite friends to their San Diego, Calif. home for a bible study 
 RC>> unless they are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San
 RC>> Diego County.


 JM> Well it's like Obama said the other day while referring to the BOR,
 JM> "It's just a God Damn piece of paper."

Source, John?  That exact quote is attributed to Bush minor and the person
who publicized it claims to have three different sources for it.

 JM> Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
 JM> prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
 JM> speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
 JM> assemble,

I suspect there's more to it than the article reveals.  F'rinstance, suppose
having 'a few friends' over means there'll be 250 people there instead of
four or five couples.  Whether or not the gatherings are big enough, often enough
and/or loud enough to annoy the neighbors isn't stated; governments generally don't
act alone on things like this, there must have been a complaint from one or more
of the neighbors.

When I lived in Plattsmouth, my neighbor up the street belonged to a really
fundamentalist group.  The members of that group - there were only a dozen or
so - rotated their Sunday services around and every six weeks or so they'd
gather at my neighbor's.  Technically they were having religious services in a
private home, and that was probably a violation of the local zoning ordinance;
AFAIK nobody complained to the city (and I know from personal experience that
the city would act at the drop of a hat - and keep the name(s) of the complainer(s)
secret), and nothing was done by the city (and I also know from personal experience
that despite numerous complaints from many citizens the city would do *nothing*
about the drug house across the street from me, and everybody in eastern Nebraska
knew where and what it was).

Note that the government's problem in this particular instance is what is apparently
a violation of the local zoning ordinance(s), not the fact that the fellow is holding
religious services.

If this involves small (six or fewer couples) gatherings held occasionally I'm on
the pastor's side; if it involves larger (more than six couples) gatherings on a
regular schedule (weekly or more than once a week) then I'm with the neighbors
and the city.

--- FleetStreet 1.19+