Posted on 12/28/2007 8:26:01 PM PST by MrEdd
Miami-Dade County officials: Christian groups no longer required to acquire land for prayer meetings ADF attorneys file to dismiss case after officials agree to drop 2.5-acre land requirement Thursday, December 27, 2007, 2:40 PM (MST) | ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020
Miami-Dade County officials: Buy 2.5 acres, or cancel Bible study MIAMI — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have agreed to drop a lawsuit on behalf of two groups of Christians originally told they must either purchase 2.5 acres of land, or stop meeting for prayer and Bible study. Miami-Dade County officials issued cease-and-desist orders to both of the groups until the requirement could be met, even if only two or three people were in attendance. But county officials are now fully supporting the rights of the groups under federal law, making the lawsuit unnecessary.
“County officials agreed that forcing people to purchase 2.5 acres of land in order to meet in a private home is ridiculous,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “In light of their decision to drop the acreage requirement, we see no reason to continue litigation in the case. We commend county officials for standing up for the rights of our clients.”
On April 21, 2006, after more than a decade of meeting for prayer, Bible study, discussion, and singing, the International Outreach Center received a code violation from the county stating that the group needed to apply for a “certificate of use.” The county responded to the IOC’s application by stating that the group would need to purchase 2.5 acres of land, or stop meeting.
Worldwide Agape Ministries, a small, home-based religious ministry, which meets for the same purposes as IOC, also received a cease-and-desist order. County officials stated at the time that the group would have to purchase 2.5 acres of land to continue meetings, even if the regular gathering included two to three people. On Feb. 19, ADF attorneys filed suit on behalf of IOC and WAM (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4014), but now that county officials are fully supporting the groups’ rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the two ministries are dropping their suit.
A copy of the voluntary dismissal filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in International Outreach Center v. Miami-Dade County is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/IOCdismissal.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
What the Hey!!
Let your enemies carry away as much “face” as they can, but let that be the only thing they take from a battle.
These guvmint officials seem to have forgotten about the bill of rights.
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According to Intrade, the winner of the December 12th GOP debate was... Duncan Hunter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938773/posts
Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926032/posts
In this poll Hunter is up 3% and even with Paul and Thompson.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3481ef60-8195-46a9-af04-b87b907bcfdd
Ping to read later
Well, I suppose that makes sense, but personally i would rather see these guys so totally humiliated that they don’t try it again next time they figure no one is looking.
Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!
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