On The Front Lines
Citing Historic & Religious Liberty Concerns, Rutherford Institute Warns Fairfax County Against Adopting Regulation Barring “Group Assembly”
FAIRFAX, Va.— Calling on the County of Fairfax’s Board of Supervisors to protect its citizens’ First Amendment right to peaceable assembly, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, is cautioning county officials against enacting a zoning regulation amendment that would significantly restrict the ability of residents to assemble in their homes in order to allegedly pacify a few residents complaining about noise and parking. Specifically, the proposed regulation would prohibit “any group assembly exceeding forty-nine people in one day” if it occurs more frequently than three times in any forty day period.
The Institute warns that the proposed amendment would severely impact the religious rights of county citizens by preventing them from exercising their religious beliefs to engage in Bible studies and community group fellowship. Further, Whitehead warns that the proposed amendment is vague and opens itself up to selective enforcement, running afoul of the Constitution.
“The First Amendment does not permit governments to outlaw established freedoms such as free speech, religious exercise and the right to assemble in groups simply because it may be ‘annoying’ to some members of the community,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, author of A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. “This is a dangerous road to embark on, one that leads to more onerous regulations such as residential surveillance cameras to monitor how many people are coming and going from one’s home at any given time, criminal charges, and even—as one of The Rutherford Institute’s clients can personally attest to—jail time for daring to hold Bible studies in one’s home.”
In response to a proposed zoning board amendment for Fairfax County that would prohibit “any group assembly exceeding forty-nine people in one day” if it occurs more frequently than three times in any forty day period, The Rutherford Institute warns that such a regulation would signify a gross overreach by the Board of Supervisors in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but it would also significantly and unnecessarily restrict the ability of community leaders and religious groups to engage in meaningful expression and public assembly, in addition to suppressing a core liberty dating back to the days of America’s founding—the right to freely assemble—a right which has been at the heart of every historically significant movement in our nation’s history, dating back to the very founding of the republic. Whitehead points to the case of Michael Salman, an Arizona pastor who was jailed for 60 days for hosting Bible studies in his home for 20 or so family members and friends after a few neighbors complained, as an example of what Fairfax residents can expect if this regulation is adopted.
