The following comes from a November 19 release from the American Ceter for Law and Justice.
The fate of after-school Bible clubs in California may rest on the outcome of a lawsuit filed today in United States District Court. The suit filed by the American Center for Law and Justice argues that Orange County’s Buena Park School District unconstitutionally rejected a Christian youth club’s request to meet in district facilities on equal grounds with similar, nonprofit, nonreligious youth organizations.
The Good News Club, a local affiliate of the international, Bible-centered organization Child Evangelism Fellowship, provides school kids with extracurricular educational programming and recreational activities that teach about life from a biblical perspective. Child Evangelism Fellowship’s West Orange County chapter was denied a request to use district facilities free of charge, despite California Education Code allowing nonprofit, youth-oriented groups to use public school facilities at no cost. Similar nonprofit groups have historically been permitted to meet after hours without charge at Buena Park schools.
“This selective application of policy speaks ill of the Buena Park School District’s respect for and understanding of the Constitution,” said David French, ACLJ Senior Counsel. “Freedom doesn’t stop at the schoolhouse door. Child Evangelism Fellowship has every right to equal treatment and access to public school facilities for its after-school events.”
The lawsuit, posted here, contends Buena Park School District stands in violation of the First Amendment on free speech, free exercise of religion and establishment of religion grounds. It also asserts that Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law has been impacted by the district’s selective application of its own facility usage policies.
To read the original release, click here.
Good sue the pants out of them. If they allow the gay and lesbian clubs during school hours at lunch time, then they have to allow equal rights to Christian groups too. I’m really getting tired of these backwards ways! Lets sue everyone and everything that wants to take away our freedom!
Strange bedfellows. As much as America has suffered at the hands of the ACLU enforcing its view of legalism on our society, this time they are arguing for both the legal and moral high ground. This happens rarely, but when it does, we need to change our ‘tudes and welcome their public support of the concept for which we are fighting.
The suit is filed by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), not the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Maryanne, it’s not the ACLU, but the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice – Jay Sekulow’s group) that’s handling this lawsuit.
Frances and rcuny, thank you for the correction of my misperception. At age 70, my eyesight is failing, and I misread the third paragraph, was surprised, reread it and yet still didn’t make out the distinction between the ACLJ and ACLU visually, so thanks for the heads up. This changes my position back to my usual opinion of the ACLU, which is that they choose uberliberal positions almost as a rule. It also raises the question then of where is the ACLU when such challenges are made? Once in a rare great while they do surprise us by coming forth to support challenges by the right, but it has been a long, long time since I have read of that.
What the majority of Americans does not realize is that the greatest persecution against ANY group has always been against Catholics (or Christians). Devout Christians must know that being a disciple of Christ means being persecuted. The world hates us because we belong to Christ, and being jealous, the world and society will try to destroy us, because they cannot own us. Anti-Black or anti-Jewish incidents are small when you consider how many Catholics are being murdered in Moslem lands. To be a real Christian means to die to the world, and only follow Our Lord, because HE IS the way, the truth, and the life.
Exactly, Father Karl, thank you, and precisely why “Opening the windows of the Church to the world”, utterly contradicting Christ, has been such a complete and continuing disaster.
Its actually good for us to suffer.
Someone should tell ACLU, making something legal does not make it moral. After all killing Jews during WW II slavery and slavery was legal.