re: #114 freetoken

Well, you could move to North Platte and start a mosque.

But it’s going to be a hard road, if the comments that popped up about nearby Lexington’s battle against permitting a mosque is any evidence.

See e.g.:

northplattepost.com

I don’t know much about the issues cited in the city of Lexington. It would appear the city is suing for zoning violations.

The mosque’s expansion permit was rejected unanimously by the city council in December 2015.

nebraska.tv

In March, the ACLU of Nebraska weighed in on the side of the mosque, as did a lawyer in the city of Cozad.

omaha.com (Omaha World-Herald)

The ACLU and the lawyer argue the city is violating Federal law by using zoning ordinances to prohibit a religious organisation from having a sacred space. That law, passed during the end of the Clinton Administration, is quite clear on the matter of using zoning against any religious organisation.

Claude Berreckman, a Cozad attorney who is representing the mosque, says federal law — the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 — plainly states that communities cannot pass zoning ordinances that restrict freedom of religion.

“We have a law that’s fairly clear here,” Berreckman said. “To me, it’s a huge waste of taxpayer dollars to pursue a lawsuit.”

About that: That is what conservatives do when they don’t get their way; spend massive amounts of taxmoney on lawsuits.

The city sued the mosque and asked the courts to impose a $100 a day fine against it for zoning violations.

I am not sure where the case stands now, I can’t find anything more recent. The mosque itself doesn’t seem to have a Website.

If you like, I’ll try to give them a call and ask about it. (I am an atheist, but I stand against anyone prohibiting free exercise of religion. I don’t know how many times I have heard the phrase from conservatives “Freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion. - Actually, it does.)

I fought on behalf of a mosque once before, in Oklahoma. I’ll do it here too.