The Right to Peaceful Assembly: San Diego Allows Bible Study

"County Apologizes To Pastor Over Bible Study Citation"
KGTV San Diego (June 3, 2009, updated June 3, 2009)

"2 Formal Apology Letters Sent To Pastor's Lawyer"

"A South Bay pastor who was told he needed a permit to host a bible study group at his home said he finally has the closure he was looking for.

"On Wednesday, San Diego County officials sent pastor David Jones' attorney a formal letter rescinding an April 14 cease and desist order.

"The county initially told Jones he had to obtain a permit to hold the meetings at his Bonita home because a neighbor had complained about parking and traffic congestion...."

I think if San Diego County officials had kept strictly to their 'neighbor complaint about traffic' line, they might have succeeded in shutting down the Bible study. Apparently, around 15 people showing up, once a week, is more than the San Diego transportation infrastructure can handle.

Officials tipped their hand, I think, by asking questions like:

• "Do you say amen?"
• "Do you pray?"
• "Do you say praise the Lord?"

That made it seem more likely that it wasn't the idea of 15 people getting together that bothered San Diego County: it was 15 Christians gathering.

I'm glad to see that San Diego County says it's going to allow those Christians to meet, just as if they were regular citizens. That's the sort of open-mindedness that's gotten America to where it is today. For good or ill.

Related posts:

• "The Right to Peaceful Assembly: As Long as the Government Approves"
  (May 28, 2009)
• "Notre Dame, Obama, and 'Outside Agitators' - a Blast From the Past"
  (May 17, 2009)
• "DHS Report Identifying Veterans and Pro-Lifers as Potential Terrorists (Quietly) Withdrawn"
  (May 14, 2009)
• "Fear of Right-Wing Extremism: Commie-Hunting in Reverse"
  (April 19, 2009)
• "Religious Symbols Verboten! 'IHS' Verboten! - Rules for Leader's Appearance at Georgetown"
  (April 16, 2009)
• "Homeland Security Report: American Veterans are Potential Terrorists - I am Not Making This Up"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (April 15, 2009)
• "Pro-Life? You May be a Dangerous Domestic Terrorist! MIAC Says So"
  (March 23, 2009)

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A tip of the hat to BeadifulDesigns, on Twitter, for the heads-up on San Diego County's apparent reversal.