Source: Rediff

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2006/aug/05sikh.htm

On August 5, 2006 Rediff reported, "In a major victory for Sikhs in the United States, a San Francisco court has held that the community has the right to build a gurudwara in their neighbourhood. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed a Sikh congregation to construct a place of worship on land allotted for agriculture in Sutter county. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm known for protecting the free expression of religious traditions, had filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the community. 'This resounding victory for the Sikh group has nationwide implications for a wide range of cases dealing with religious land interests and it will echo especially loudly in California,' firm spokesman Jared N Leland said. Neighbours had complained over the congregation's first bid to locate its gurudwara in a residential part of California's Yuba City, so it acquired land in a rural, agriculturally zoned area in 2002."