The most recent Supreme Court ruling could possibly have an impact on churches and should be watched…Here’s the first couple of paragraphs from an AP article:
A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth often is at war with individual property rights.
The 5-4 ruling – assailed by dissenting Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as handing “disproportionate influence and power” to the well-heeled in America – was a defeat for Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They had argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.
As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.
It seems that if a local city can just take property for whatever reason, not clear public use. And this could include churches. It seems to strike at the heart of the 5th amendment and we should be concerned.
