Source: The Associated Press
[religionnewsblog.com/html/5014-Panhandle_zoning_board_rejects_Wiccan_church.html]
On November 8, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "Santa Rosa County's zoning board unanimously refused to let a Wiccan church meet in a residential neighborhood, a decision applauded by about 200 opponents. One opponent held up a Bible and pointed to it in front of about a dozen Pagans who attended the board's meeting Thursday. Others said it wasn't a religious issue, arguing that a residential area is inappropriate for a church, citing traffic as a major problem. The Rev. William E. Livingston, chancellor of the Fire Dance Church of Wicca, said he will appeal the decision. 'They stepped all over my civil liberties tonight, and my church's civil liberties,' Livingston said after the vote. 'This will not be over until we win. We'll never let it go.'"