There’s been a lot made about a San Diego couple who’ve been ordered to stop holding Bible study group sessions in their home. I was reminded again of the incident, about which I wasn’t prepared to give a second thought (what with the state of the world these days) until a friend of mine on Facebook objected to the report thusly:
I thought the United States was a country based on the principals (sic) of freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. This makes me sick!
Background: The couple, Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary, indicate that an average of about 15 people attend their weekly bible study. Which according to San Diego County officials, they can not continue to hold without obtaining a “major use” permit, which could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Now it certainly appears that the Joneses have been targeted because of the religious aspect of their Bible study (and not for any other reason), which stands in direct contradiction to the spirit and the letter of the first amendment:
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.
My take: The Joneses and their friends are exercising their guaranteed right to practice a religion of their choosing, and they are assembling peaceably. It will be a damn shame, therefore, if the Joneses have to escalate this matter to a Federal court (at their own, non-reimbursable expense) in order to go about their own damn businesses.
The couple’s attorney asks, rhetorically:
If the county thinks they can shut down groups of 10 or 15 Christians meeting in a home, what about people who meet regularly at home for poker night? What about people who meet for Tupperware parties? What about people who are meeting to watch baseball games on a regular basis and support the Chargers?
Unless you happen to live on an Indian Reservation and your house is really a tribal casino, “poker night” is probably illegal. Same with the Tupperware party, unless you license your business and report 100% of the income for taxation/confiscation. If you’re serving booze to friends during the baseball game, you might be guilty of hosting a nuisance party. For larger occasions where your guests might chip in $5 or $10 to defray the cost of a keg (like the SuperBowl or the Final Four), you could be busted for operating a “blind pig” if the authorities come knocking.
…And because it’s that time of year, in some locales you can’t host a High School graduation party without a special event parking permit!
I know religion is a hot-button issue for a lot of people, but if we could tease out this sort of reaction (This makes me sick!), each and every time the government (Federal, State, or Local) demands some sort of tribute or “license”, from good people trying to do right by themselves, imagine the uproar!
Above, I attempted to give a very short list of activities in which a great number of people regularly engage, and which are also outlawed or severely restricted by the State. In reality the government wants a cut of everything you do. The list is endless, fortuntately so are the opportunities for objection and resistance.
What’s difficult, though, is convincing people that their struggles are our struggles.
