So what?
Once again, where does the Constitution say that you must have a permit to conduct bible study or worship in your house?
This is not about conducting Bible Study or the Frommes worshiping in their home. It’s about conducting religious services for a congregation in their home, effectively making it a church. That’s fine in many communities throughout America; it’s not OK in San Juan Capistrano, where they’ve established their home/church.
The Constitution in its body, leaves to the States that which it does not specifically assign to the federal government. States, in turn, assign to their various municipalities the right to zone as those municipalities see fit, according to the needs and desires of the citizens of the municipalities. The City of San Juan Capistrano set out ordinances within its city limits, including zoning that has certain prohibitions in residential areas.
The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law ...respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;....”
We’re not talking about San Juan Capistrano establishing a religion, I believe we can agree on that.
So the remaining question is: is the city of San Juan Capistrano prohibiting, through its zoning ordinances, the free exercise thereof?
How are they doing that? By not allowing a congregation to meet and conduct services in a private home on property that is zoned residential, when the property owners knew, or should have known, that that violates local ordinances? And when there are alternative locations available in San Juan Capistrano that don’t violate the zoning ordinances?
Who is being prohibited from freely expressing their religious beliefs, and how? The only restriction is on where they are choosing to exercise that right.
Were the Frommes targeted? Was the ordinance adopted purposely to stop them from using their home to conduct services for their congregation? Or, did the ordinance precede their ownership?
It’s been decades, but before the last time I sat at a home closing, we were given all the ordinances and covenants of the community in which we were buying. We chose the neighborhood we did specifically because it didn’t have covenants that dictated the color we could paint our house, or how high our fence could be. Did the Frommes read those ordinances/covenants? Don’t they have a responsibility here?
While I appreciate the Frommes being called to preach, I cannot see how their and their congregants’ Constitutional rights are being infringed. Just as there are restrictions on free speech (fire/theater) there are legitimate restrictions on where one can choose to exercise one’s religion.