Posted on 09/09/2009 3:40:53 PM PDT by radar101
There are some stories that just have it all, and this one, straight outta Phoenix, fits the bill. Religion, the Constitution, annoyed townspeople, an indignant bishop — all the makings of a great blog post.
Here goes:
It starts with a church in Phoenix called Christ the King Church. Prior to May, the church rang its bells every hour on the hour, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Despite all that is wonderful with hourly dinging-and-donging, some of the neighborhood’s residents got annoyed and asked a judge to shut down the racket.
The judge did just that — and a little more: He convicted the bishop, Rick Painter, on two counts of creating “an unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise.” Painter in June was given a suspended sentence of ten days in jail and three years’ probation on June 3.
The judge restricted the chimes at the church to no more than 60 decibels for two minutes on Sundays and specific religious holidays. (The bells’ volume has been registered as emitting 67 decibels at the nearest property line. By comparison, a whisper is 30 decibels and a normal conversation runs from 60 to 70 decibels.) Click here for the story, from abc15.com, on Painter’s conviction.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Painter wasn’t pleased by the conviction. “We’re expressing our religion we glorify God by the bells,” he said.
Now comes word that a collection of churches — Christ the King and two other Phoenix churches — have filed suit in federal court against the city for violating its First Amendment right to practice its religion unfettered.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
If, on the other hand, the ordinance was in effect at that site and the church began ringing the bells after that time, the jackbooted thugs in the government wins.
Nothing could be simpler ~ since that's the way all these cases are settled.
Sometimes the church found out why the land was so cheap ~ and sometimes the nearby homeowners find out why they got a bargain basement house.
Decibel Levels of Common Noise Sources
Sound Pressure Level (dBA) Noise Source
140 -—————————————————— Jet Engine (at 25 meters)
130 -—————————————————— Jet Aircraft (at 100 meters)
120 -—————————————————— Rock and Roll Concert
110 -—————————————————— Pneumatic Chipper
100 -—————————————————— Jointer Planer
90 -—————————————————— Chainsaw
80 -—————————————————— Heavy Truck Traffic
70 -—————————————————— Business Offices
60 -—————————————————— Conversational Speech
50 -—————————————————— Library
40 -—————————————————— Bedroom
30 -—————————————————— Secluded Woods
20 -—————————————————— Whisper
I thank God that the church bell in my little town Rings on Sunday morning only.
I grew up in a town where the siren at the fire house still blows every day at noon. I was so used to it tat I barely noticed it even when I lived about 100 feet away. (I never slept past noon)
The judge did just that — and a little more: He convicted the bishop, Rick Painter, on two counts of creating “an unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise.” Painter in June was given a suspended sentence of ten days in jail and three years’ probation on June 3.
Arizona is not the only place where liberal neighbors have shut down church bells.
St. John Neumann Church in Reston, Virginia, had its church bells shut down by the town of Reston. First the noxious neighbors attempted to stop the church from expanding its building to accommodate a growing membership. The anti-Catholic enemies of the church enlisted the Reston Association to help them stop the expansion of the facilities, even though the church was outside the boundaries of the town. They managed to harass the church, but failed to stop the expansion. In the end the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors allowed limited improvements and parking facilities. The neighbors complained about the lighting, the people attending church services, the size of the parking lot, and more.
After the facility expansion was complete, the same vermin complained about the church bells, and stopped the church from using their new melodious chimes and chords. Many local governments have exceptions and waivers for "noise" from church bells.
I was astounded by the complaints; I grew up hearing church bells across the town; it was a positive way of life.
It was comforting. There were three churches within 1/2 mile of my house.
I also remember as a little kid, the sirens going off on Sunday, I think sometime in the afternoon. ( public warning system)
NIMBY pricks are never asleep. Except when they first move in to an area where the thing they complain about is obvious to begin with. This country needs less court time and more ass-kicking competitions so we can determine what kind of behaviors are acceptable without resort to social scientists, pollsters etc. (SARC) and the time is coming if the bitching class doesn’t lighten up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.