Church on the Beach has been holding services in the sand for the past 18 years. More than 100 attend the services – a ministry outreach for Californians who might never step foot in a conventional church.
The Department of Beaches and Harbors says their new rule only applies to churches. Religious groups will only be allowed to host six activities per year on the public beaches. And they would have to pay a $250 fee.
The American Center for Law and Justice is representing Church on the Beach, and they say the government has broken the law and violated the U.S. Constitution.
ACLJ says the church members have been model citizens, carefully ensuring their gatherings don’t obstruct pathways, block traffic, or impede emergency vehicles. They’ve even voluntarily relocated during large community events to avoid any potential disruptions.
The ACLJ’s legal team immediately recognized this as a textbook case of religious discrimination. Public beaches, like parks, are traditional public forums where the government cannot restrict speech based on its content without meeting the highest legal standard of strict scrutiny.
As the Supreme Court has consistently ruled, the government cannot exclude religious viewpoints from public forums. When a government entity opens a space for public use, it cannot then discriminate against religious groups or religious speech in that space.
Last week, the ACLJ sent a detailed demand letter to Los Angeles County, outlining the constitutional violations and demanding that the County immediately cease its discriminatory treatment of Church on the Beach.