BDx13
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Church, State & Punk Rock. Thoughts?
this is from punknews...
The Trinity Methodist Church recently filed suit against the city of Albany which has been preventing the church from hosting rock shows. The group is
suing in federal court alleging unconstitutional governmental interference in religion.
They are asking the judge to reopen the doors for the shows, which were halted in July after neighbors complained about noise and kids hanging out on
the street. Some bands at the church played punk rock, sometimes with offensive lyrics, which neighbors later cited as a rationale for their
opposition.
A professor of constitutional law from the local university weighed in:
"The constitution's free exercise of religion puts the burden on the state to prove why they should be able to invade the sanctuary of the church."
The shows were all-ages and alcohol free and hosted under the name "New Age Cabaret." A search through our database shows a diverse number of bands
and genres that came through the venue.
The case represents more than just this one city and church however, since in many smaller towns, local churches are the only all-ages venues
available to touring bands and are vital to the development of both local and touring acts. If cities could prevent churches from hosting punk and
hardcore shows in particular, many kids would have no local venue at all.
http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/trinumc/
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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CR83
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Boy I can almost see it from both sides I guess. One thing is that the state shouldn't be able to step in a tell a church what to do as long as it is
a recognized religion I guess. One caveat is that it is creating a public nuissance. It shouldn't have been based off of what type of music, but off
of what type of public bother is has become.
The other thing is how is a touring musical act a part of the "Sanctuary of the church"?
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Kid Ugly
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The church doesn't give two shits about punk rock or freedom of speech (except when it comes to them). They just miss the checks.
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defstarsteve
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a church can be in violation of noise laws
if there is some church blasting hymns or punk at a certain level within a certain range of houses then yeah they need to shut it down or be zoned as
a proper business like any other live music venue and pay some damn taxes on all that free god money
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DaveMoral
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The question is, just how loud was it? And is it really that the neighbors didn't like seeing kids with "funny clothes" in their neighborhood?
In my experiences, churches have been a pretty reliable venue for all ages shows and keeping a clean and safe atmosphere for all involved.
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clevohardcore
* Kick\'n ass on the wild side *
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Putting shows on in a church is stupid anyway.
Each aspect of the soul has it's own part to play, but the ideal is harmonious agreement with reason and control.
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clevohardcore
* Kick\'n ass on the wild side *
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a church is a place to worship and not a place for 14 year oolds to act cool at.
Each aspect of the soul has it's own part to play, but the ideal is harmonious agreement with reason and control.
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RomanticViolence
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| Quote: | Originally posted by defstarsteve
a church can be in violation of noise laws
if there is some church blasting hymns or punk at a certain level within a certain range of houses then yeah they need to shut it down or be zoned as
a proper business like any other live music venue and pay some damn taxes on all that free god money |
Good post.
That is all 
Have you ever noticed how crayons are a lot like M&M's? All the colors tend to taste the same.
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JawnDiablo
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GOD HATES US ALL!
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