News Release
For Immediate Release: 2.6.25
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Chinese and Taiwanese American Church Sues California Town for Denying Permit to Conduct Religious Services on Church Property
City denies permit after church purchases property for its congregation.
Santa Ana, CA—First Liberty Institute and the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP filed a federal lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction against the City of Santa Ana (CA) for refusing to grant Anchor Stone Christian Church’s Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to use church property to conduct religious services.
You can read the complaint here and the preliminary injunction here.
“The First Amendment and federal law protect the right of churches to operate free from unreasonable and intrusive government interference,” said Ryan Gardner, Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “Preventing a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American church from worshiping in a facility they purchased is a flagrant denial of the free exercise of their religious activities.”
“It’s gross favoritism and discrimination when the city grants a permit to one church across the street from the location where Anchor Stone was denied,” said Timothy Durst, partner at O’Melveny & Myers. “The city’s repeated efforts to prevent churches and religious institutions from engaging in their religious missions cannot continue.”
Anchor Stone is a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American Christian church that endeavors to spread the gospel to others in Santa Ana and throughout Orange County. Since its inception in 2018, the church has grown from an in-home prayer group to a 50-member congregation needing additional space. With assurance from the city that there would be no obstacles for using the property they intended to purchase for religious assembly, they proceeded with the purchase. It was only after closing on the property that the city rejected Anchor Stone’s CUP. Since the denial, the property has sat vacant for two years and the church has been unable to renovate or hold worship services in it.
In the complaint, attorneys state: “The City’s stubborn and uncompromising refusal to allow the free exercise of Anchor Stone’s fundamental religious rights has left Anchor Stone no option but to seek [a] Court’s assistance to protect those rights.”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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