Freedom of the press and freedom of religion get most of the First Amendment attention. But let's not forget there's a right to freedom of assembly in there, too, just waiting to be stepped on:
FAIRFAX, Va. – A plan to ban “frequent and large gatherings at neighborhood homes” is a lawsuit waiting to happen, a Fairfax County supervisor predicts.
[. . .]
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.”
[. . .]
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.
"A lawsuite waiting to happen" -- no freakin' kidding. The unconstitutionality is so glaringly obvious that a third-grader could write the Supreme Court opinion in his sleep. This is one of those fundamental rights that trumps mere aesthetic considerations. It doesn't matter what you think my yard sign does to your property values, I'm supporting Joe Doakes for Congress and I'm letting the world know it. It doesn't matter how tough my Old Farts for Doakes gathering makes it for you to park you car, I'm having it.
Comments
with the way the courts have totally thrown common sense out the window its only a matter of time before this happens too. they will rule in favor of some slick talking lawyer and the ultra liberal agenda that they uphold. to the total dismay of the rest of the country. if rulings like this come to pass, it will be another step toward the total dismemberment of the constitution and the slide to the "united socialist states of america"