Laserfiche WebLink
8:23-cv-00183-DOC-KES Document 25 Filed 05/09/23 Page 9 of 18 Page ID #:188 <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />chapter and the Constitution." 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-3(g). <br />Consistent with this broad mandate, courts have routinely found that providing <br />charity to homeless individuals ---including by offering food and drink --can constitute <br />"religious exercise" under RLUIPA. See, e.g., Harbor Missionary Church Corp. v. City <br />of San Buenaventura, 642 F. App'x 726, 727-29 (9th Cir. 2016) (finding that the <br />church's homeless ministry, which included offering food, was "an integral part of its <br />religious exercise"); World Outreach Conf. Ctr. v. City of Chicago, 591 F.3d 531, 537 <br />(7th Cir. 2009) (holding that the City's denial of a permit impeded the church's <br />"religious mission of providing living facilities to homeless and other needy people"); <br />Fifth Ave. Presbyterian Church v. City of New York, 293 F.3d 570, 574-75 (2d. Cir. <br />2002) (finding that operating a homeless shelter constitutes religious exercise); see also <br />W. Presbyterian Church v. Bd. of Zoning Adjustment of D. C., 862 F. Supp. 538, 544 <br />(D.D.C. 1994) (noting that, in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act context, the <br />"concept of acts of charity as an essential part of religious worship is a central tenet of all <br />major religions," including by providing "clothing for the naked, food.for the hungry, <br />and benevolence to the needy") (emphasis added).' <br />Here, MW alleges that providing food and drink to poor and homeless individuals <br />is an integral part of its religious exercise. MW asserts that it is a Christian "faith -based <br />organization" named after the "Micah Mandate," as set forth in the Bible. Compl. 15. <br />Feeding homeless persons is part of its "Christian ministry." Id. 1�4, 19, 26, 42-43. <br />MW feeds homeless persons because it believes it "has a religious duty to help the <br />homeless that come to it ... including by providing a cup of coffee and a muffin if a <br />client is hungry." Id. ¶27. This belief is rooted in "heeding and implementing the <br />4 These rulings are consistent with RLUIPA's legislative intent, which aimed to protect <br />organizations like MW that exercise their faith through charity, including by distributing <br />food to homeless individuals. During RLUIPA's legislative process, a sponsoring <br />senator specifically cited a "meals program for the homeless and the working poor" as a <br />type of land use that should receive protection as religious exercise. See 146 Cong. Rec. <br />S6689 (daily ed. July 13, 2000) (statement of Sen. Kennedy). <br />8 <br />