First Liberty Institute and the law firms Haynes and Boone, LLP and Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, LLC recently sent a demand letter to the City of Rainsville, Alabama, after Total Recovery Ministries was denied a permit to use its property for a discipleship ministry for men struggling with various addictions. The city also sent a “cease-and-desist” demanding that all ministry efforts be stopped.
RELATED: See demand letter here.
“It’s puzzling why the City of Rainsville seeks to shut down Total Recovery Ministries whose efforts in the community help men become more valuable members of society,” said Ryan Gardner, senior counsel for First Liberty. “The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religious expression and compassionate practices that Total Recovery seeks to provide men.”
“Total Recovery Ministries operates a program that serves men seeking to overcome life-controlling problems and helps them to lead productive lives centered on faith in Jesus Christ,” First Liberty noted.
In October 2022, TRM purchased a residential structure for its discipleship program for men overcoming addiction and other life-controlling problems and sought a variance to use the facility as residential property.
The city reportedly rejected the variance and then sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding that TRM cease its ministry within 30 days.
The United States Department of Justice has launched an investigation to determine the city’s compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the Fair Housing Act.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by First Liberty Institute.
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