Do you have a permit for that Bible?

The story is generating quite a bit of heat, and—who knows?—maybe some rays of light along with it. It’s the story of a pastor by the name of David Jones in San Diego, recently told by local authorities that he can’t host a small Bible study group in his home without getting a “major use permit” and incurring thousands of dollars in costs. From a local news outlet :

A county code enforcement officer visited the house and asked Jones’ wife about the weekly Bible studies.

“She said, ‘Do you say amen?’ and my wife said, ‘Well, yes,’” Jones recalled.

“And she said, ‘Do you say praise the Lord? she said, ‘Well, yes but what does that have to with it?’” Jones said.

10News asked the county official about the officer’s line of questioning.
“Did the officer actually do that? Is that part of the requirements to ask those questions?” Reporter Joe Little asked.

“Obviously, I wasn’t there, so I can’t tell you exactly what was said. However, what our officer was trying to do is establish what the use is so that we know what regulations to actually utilize,” explained Chandra Wallar of the county’s land use and environment group.

Now, after the story was picked up by outraged bloggers and has graduated to national headlines, the county officials are emphasizing that this is nothing at all to do with squashing the freedom of religious expression and assembly. It’s all about parking . Neighbors don’t want to be overwhelmed by cars on their street, emergency vehicles need to able to get through, etc. etc.

Well, when it comes to things like faith, the Bible and God, we know that they ebb and flow in their significance. Parking, on the other hand, is a perpetual and fundamental concern of all, and an issue which must be carefully tended by our government for the common good.

You would think, however, that it could be addressed rather less intrusively by something called parking regulations . You might have resident-only parking areas to keep spaces open for actual residents, or regulations about exactly where cars may and may not park in order to keep space free for emergency vehicles. Then, there would be no need to go knock on Pastor Jones’ door and demand to know what he’s doing with the 15 people in his house, because it wouldn’t matter. Either the visitors have parked legally, or they run the risk of being ticketed and towed.

Then, however, the county would have to forgo those thousands of dollars in “major use” permit fees and the like, which can be collected so conveniently without the use of tow trucks and ticketing agents.

Follow the money, as they say. Just don’t bring your friends along when you do so; unless, that is, you’re prepared to shell out for a parade permit fee.