Quote Originally Posted by Jason View Post
...snip...Cliffy: A city can decide that music from religious buildings is a noise violation but if they did they'd have to do it for all religions. The people flipping out about a mosque being built in a "catholic residential community" are the same people that would be flipping out about how their "religious freedoms" are being oppressed if you banned church bells.
Two thoughts:

1) Suggest that the best way to handle this is to pass an ordinance, but exempt existing -- grandfathering

2) I don't see why you can't ban religious loudspeakers, but not religious sounds. Bells may annoy some, but its not human voice. It seems a fair distinction -- although I also don't really want other sounds becoming a trend either.

3) Allow natural sounds, such as bells -- but disallow the use of amplification. This could allow reasonable ceremonial uses, but disallow talking. I don't have a problem with the call in Hamtramck -- but its bad public policy. Just how many calls should be allowed? 1 per sq. mile. 1 per block. 1 per house. And just how loud can they be. 90db, 120db, 150db -- or only limited by you ability to buy bigger, louder speakers.

I do see how bells and loudspeakers get lumped together, but they are really quite different. Bells have been used for millennia by religious and non-religious purposes. Amplified human voice is very different, and contains a different capability to communicate. They are distinct to me.

Standing in the mosque tower and screaming the prayer seems quite reasonable to me. A 240-volt machine to send that 3 miles does not.