The Town of Weare targets religious assembly while turning a blind eye to comparable secular activity.
Weare, NH—First Liberty Institute, prominent law firm King & Spalding LLP,
and the Law Offices of Marbury & Marbury, PLLC, as pro bono counsel, filed a preliminary injunction against the
town of Weare, New Hampshire, claiming it violated the law when by requiring an
expensive and onerous site review plan before the pastor could use his own home
and property to host religious gatherings.
You can read the motion here.
“Hundreds of
thousands of Americans meet every day in homes for prayer meetings, Bible
studies, book clubs, card games, and other gatherings. Why would Weare
city officials demand this small church stop meeting in the pastor’s home, but
ignore Super Bowl parties and political gatherings?” asked Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First
Liberty Institute. “Since the day the First Amendment became law all people of
faith have been granted the right to worship and pray in their home with
like-minded people.”
“In the United States, the tradition of using individual homes
for religious gatherings—even formal church services—has garnered special
solicitude under the law,” said King & Spalding partner Sean Royall.
“The suit is about protecting that legal right for all faiths.”
Pastor Howard Kaloogian founded Grace New England Church in his
home as a church plant. He welcomes people in his home and occasionally holds
social gatherings for invited guests. In October of 2023, he received a “Cease
and Desist” notice from the Town of Weare stating, “you are to immediately stop
any assembly regarding Grace New England Church. This Cease and Desist will
remain in effect until a site plan is submitted, reviewed and there is a
decision made by the Town Planning Board.” Pastor Kaloogian was also warned
that unless he was in full compliance of the order, penalties would apply. Even
though Weare’s zoning permits churches to exist as a matter of right, the Town
informed him that, without a site plan, he would not be permitted to use his
home to hold church services.
The complaint states that “the First Amendment’s guarantee to
‘free exercise’ is inviolate in one’s home and cannot be dismissed at the
request of a town’s zoning officer. The demand to ‘Cease and Desist…any
assembly regarding Grace New England Church’ directly implicates the First
Amendment’s ‘right of the people peaceably to assemble.’”
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