Party Boy Wrote:
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>
http://watchdog.org/142488/faiirfax-home-assemblie
> s/
> By Kenric Ward | Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau
>
> FAIRFAX, Va. – A plan to ban “frequent and
> large gatherings at neighborhood homes” is a
> lawsuit waiting to happen, a Fairfax County
> supervisor predicts.
>
> Officials will get an idea Wednesday when
> public-comment hearings begin in Virginia’s most
> populous county.
>
> “I believe the county is risking a lawsuit
> and/or a constitution challenge by interfering
> with peoples’ right to assemble,” Supervisor
> Pat Herrity said in a statement.
>
> The proposed zoning ordinance limits “group
> assembly” at residences to 49 people a day. Such
> gatherings “shall not occur more frequently than
> three times in any 40-day period.”
>
> READ ALSO: This is what happens when you mess with
> gun owners.
>
> County officials say they have received complaints
> about group meetings at homes. But Herrity said
> “they haven’t even reached 1 percent of the
> thousands of complaints our Department of Code
> Compliance investigates a year.”
>
> “This is yet another instance where we appear to
> be punishing the many for the actions of the
> few,” said Herrity, who reported a total of six
> complaints were received last year.
>
> Church groups, scouting organizations or even
> sports fans drawn to a home’s big-screen TV
> during playoffs could be potential targets of the
> proposed county law. Realtors worry that even open
> houses would invite civil penalties.
>
> John Whitehead, an attorney and president of the
> civil-libertarian Rutherford Institute, calls the
> Fairfax plan “nefarious.”
>
> “Broad enactments like these have governments
> assuming that private property is their
> property,” Whitehead said in an interview with
> Watchdog.org.
>
> READ ALSO: Gun-grabbers just found a new way to
> target firearms
>
> “If you can’t determine what goes on at your
> own residence, you have surrendered your rights.
> The Constitution is founded on property
> rights.”
>
> Nevertheless, some courts have upheld aggressive
> zoning restrictions. In Phoenix, a minister was
> sentenced to 60 days in jail for conducting Bible
> study classes with 10 people at a home.
>
> Herrity, who beat back a controversial dance-hall
> regulation two years ago, said Fairfax County
> already has several codes that address
> neighborhood nuisances.
>
> “We should be focusing on dealing with the
> issues and not restricting groups’ rights to
> assemble,” he said.
>
> The Board of Supervisors is moving ahead with
> three public-comment sessions on the staff-drafted
> ordinance:
>
> Wednesday, May 7, South County Government
> Center, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria.
> Monday, May 12, Fairfax County Government
> Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.
> Monday, May 19, Lemon Road Elementary School,
> 7230 Idylwood Road, Falls Church.
>
> All meetings run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
That's stupid.