Contact: Brad Dacus, President, Pacific Justice Institute, 916-857-6900

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., March 30 /Standard Newswire/ -- A city in the greater Los Angeles area that sparked national outrage for its attempts to shut down a home Bible study has conceded defeat while hinting that it might try to shutter similar groups.

The City of Rancho Cucamonga had sent a letter to a small home Bible study, demanding that it stop meeting unless it secured a costly and potentially unobtainable permit that is not required of comparable non-religious gatherings in homes. After receiving a letter from Pacific Justice Institute - and negative publicity nationwide - the City has reversed course and dropped its enforcement action.  The Mayor and other City officials even visited the Friday night Bible study.

However, while the City has dropped its enforcement action against the Bible study group, the City has indicated that it did so only because it determined that the Friday night group did not appear to be a "church." In a letter to Pacific Justice Institute last week, an attorney for the City defended the City's requirement that all churches in residential zones are illegal unless they obtain a costly permit. Thus, small home-based religious groups that consider themselves churches or meet on Sunday mornings instead of weeknights could still face severe enforcement action by the City at any time. And to date, city officials have taken no action to change this policy.

Attorney Michael Peffer, who heads PJI's Southern California office and represents the Bible study group, commented, "We are very pleased that the City of Rancho Cucamonga saw the light and dropped their attempts to shut down this Friday night Bible study. At the same time, we are concerned that the City appears determined to use the same heavy-handed tactics against house churches. We urge any church or Bible study group threatened by Rancho Cucamonga or any other local government to contact PJI immediately."

About The Pacific Justice Institute:  Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Pacific Justice Institute works diligently, without charge, to provide their clients with all the legal support they need.  Pacific Justice Institute's strategy is to coordinate and oversee large numbers of concurrent court actions through a network of over 1,000 affiliate attorneys nationwide. And, according to former US Attorney General Edwin Meese, "The Institute fills a critical need for those whose civil liberties are threatened." "Through our dedicated attorneys and supporters, we defend the rights of countless individuals, families and churches... without charge."

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