‘When government pressure causes a reasonable person to cancel a prayer service, the injury is complete the moment it happens’
By Bob Unruh
The American Center for Law and Justice has fought this battle several times: Can a government forbid a home-based Bible study because it is in a home, or because of the number of people attending, or another reason?
And when a government successfully defeats a plan to have in-home worship, can it escape liability simply by claiming it never, really, finally, issued a rejection notice?
That’s the question pending now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ACLJ said the issue is just about the same as the arguments in its previous battles, over a plan in Fairfax County, Virginia, and another in Georgia, and another in Manhattan Beach, California.
There, a resident was told he could have 100 people over to watch “Lord of the Rings,” but not to just worship.
The ACLJ said it has filed a supplemental brief in the case Grand v. City of University Heights to make sure the court has the facts.