California city wants to force people to get a permit for any gathering of more than 3 people

Did anyone check to see if this group had applied for tax exemption as a 'religious' group? Worth looking into.
Perhaps the permit idea is just a revenue generator. Permits for everything, and nice wads of cash in the coffers.

Amazing how 'Christians are under attack' when this kind of thing is brought up.
The same "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" line makes the tax exemption of religions and places of religious gathering unconstitutional.
Making any religious group tax exempt is "making a law respecting the establishment of religion." The Government cannot say what is, and what is not a valid religion. Tax exemption is just this!
Can't have it both ways. The religions either want government to stay out of their affairs, or they want tax exemption. Mutually exclusive.

"An Orange County couple has been ordered to stop holding a Bible study in their home on the grounds that the meeting violates a city ordinance as a “church” and not as a PRIVATE GATHERING"

note: not a private gathering.

Why does everyone think they are going to need a permit for thanksgiving dinner or to have a party....

These people got fined because they were essentially running a large NON PRIVATE gathering from their residential address on a regular basis. A residential area is exactly that - a place for people to reside. Not for your neighbors to hold large meetings twice a week... Rent a hall or find an appropriate place to meet rather than winging about needing a permit to do it at you RESIDENTIAL address.

This law is not going to make you get a permit to have friends and family over on a regular basis. Don't be silly.

Why does everyone think that the government is just constantly out to get them and take away all there rights?

That is not always their agenda. Don't be so paranoid, or move. Simple.

reply to post by Vitchilo


please. common sense tells us that the local PD has had it 'up to here' with multiple neighbors calling and complaining about cars parked in front of their homes, trouble backing out of their driveways, no room for their company coming over, etcetera.

nothing to see here for gosh sakes. the township has to handle this in one way or another. there has probably been people out talking with the folks where the praise & worship is taking place. this has probably a problem that has been on-going for some time. keep in mind these people these people have built up to this number of visitors. that takes time. neighbors patience wears thin. yours would too if you lived there.

when people refuse to recognize how their actions are affecting others the situation may escalate into the ridiculous. you play with matches, you get burned.

in a similar vein a PD / township has to do something about a household that has a Yard Sale every week-end of the year. how many phone calls do you think the town & PD is going to field before they are pissed off? a handful of yard sales a year is one thing. running a junk business off your front yard is another.

when a household has a steady flow of some 50 people gathering for praise & worship every Sunday there is probably a whole lot more the neighborhood has to deal with as well. it's wonderful these people are active in their faith; good on them. for all we know they have other get-together's too. shared dinners, Wednesday services maybe, counseling, etcetera.

use your common sense. if this was in your neighborhood you'd grow tired of it too. not everyone thrives in a city noise atmosphere. some neighborhoods are quiet, peaceful. 50 people every Sunday = a lot of car doors slamming, a lot of internal combustion engines revving to life. admit it or don't, that detracts from the week end solace of all the neighbors.

last, when there is 50 people regularly gathering every Sunday for services there easily exists the ability to combine donations for a rented space. people grow churches / houses of worship like this, nothing new. the city in question has had their hand forced. there are often circumstances where one particular party cannot be singled out, for fear of legal retribution. this has forced the town to go to ridiculous means to try and get these people to seek a logical alternative meeting place by having to come into compliance with use of a permit.

they brought it on themselves. when people insist on standing out they will get noticed. the resulting attention may or may not be desirable.

does this mean I have to get a permit for my son's birthday party in October?

So if you want to have more than one kid you either have to get rid of the father or the mother.

Street parking is for everyone, you don't own the street, the city does. Now if they are blocking you're driveway then you can get them towed, but if they are only parking on the street then you're SOL.

reply to post by Vitchilo


I can also see the issue with a LARGE number of people blocking roads and such.

If they can get a bus to a house, I could care less if they have 200 folks inside. If they arent being noisy or disruptive, rock on.

3? Permit?

Peoples Republic of California. nuff said.

reply to post by homeslice


Yeah, my mind has changed on this story.

With a little help from you that is.

deny ignorance, fine line!