Court upholds ban on Bible distribution
Offline Court upholds ban on Bible distribution
Published: September 1, 2007
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that prohibited the distribution of Bibles to grade school students in a southern Missouri school district.
At issue was a long-held practice at South Iron Elementary School in Annapolis, 120 miles southwest of St. Louis, in which Gideons International representatives came to fifth-grade classrooms and gave away Bibles. A U.S. district judge issued a temporary injunction, and a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis agreed the classroom distribution should be prohibited.
Parents of some students first raised concerns about the Bible distribution in 2005. That fall, the school board voted 4-3 to allow the distribution to continue against the advice of the district's insurance carrier and attorney. A day after the vote, the Gideons came to the school and distributed Bibles.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in February 2006 on behalf of four sets of parents.
Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, a law group based in Florida that represented the school district, said the appeals court ruling concerned a practice no longer in place.
Staver said the district's current policy allows people or groups to distribute literature — with approval from the district — before or after school or during lunch break, but not in the classrooms. The new policy is open to religious groups beyond the Gideons, he said, and is the subject of a pending court ruling at the district court level.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695206136,00.html
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Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Seneca
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All you have to do to show how absurd these Christians are being is appeal to "fair play". When they do it, it is Constitutional, but when an non-Chrisitain citizen does it is it s violation of the First Amendment.
Ok dipwads, we get it, and have gotten it long before you morons did. You believe something we dont. FINE, no problem there. So why not treat OUR schools as ours, not yours, not mine, but ours. So when any student goes through those doors they are a student first, not a Christian, Hindu, Jew or atheist.
No one here, in their right mind wants to burn your churches down or ripp bibles out of your hands. BUT, what most seem to forget, both left and right is that there are things that are yours, things that our mine, and things that are OURS!
The government is ours, it is not godless, or Christian, or Muslim or Jewish, it is ours. Our public schools should not be in the entiprise of promoting one religion over the other.
It is nice to see a court in this day and age to stand up to the religious zealots.
If they want theirs in, then they should let all in, since they dont want "all" in, then the right thing to do is to leave it at the door.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
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First of all, isn't it a little odd that a law group in FLORIDA is representing a school district in MISSOURI?
As long as it is on school property, the implication is that the school endorses it.
Note that it says "religious groups". They're probably scream to the high heavens (pun intended) if an atheist group attempted to distribute anything.
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Its a religious org with lawyers for hire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Counsel
Well, well, well! Then it looks to me like some of the taxpayers' money went to Liberty Counsel which is a religious organization. Unless Liberty Counsel stepped in and offered their services pro bono, that would certainly not indicate separation of church and state, now would it?
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So Missouri is not entirely given over to the fundies. There is hope after all.
When Gawad fear'en Christians do it, it is Constitutional because we all know Jesus wrote the Constitution and not our founders. You and I must accept our place at the back of the bus with Jews, and Muslims and Japanese and Chinese and Vietnamese citizens born in America who are citizens. We need to acept that Jesus is our government boss, we are allowed to pay taxes and certainly we arnt stuck in ovens, but we as non-Christians should never expect to occupy any high seat in our nation's government.
Didnt you read the signes on our White House and Supereme Court doors? "Non-Christians need not apply".
Just face it Susan, we are just government ATM's who should never expect to compete politically. Now go sleep in the guest house and know your place. HOW DARE YOU challenge the majority!
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
The Liberty Council is headed by a close friend of the late Jerry Falwell.
The Justice Department is now chock full of graduates from Falwell's and Pat Robertson's law schools. They focus a lot more on religious liberties and other religious issues than they do civil justice.
Support the Separation of Church & State!
Freedom From Religion Foundation
Why do all these groups have names out of 1984 - like with "Liberty" in when they are pretty much against liberty?
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
It's called "doublethink." The less liberty you have, the more you have. Orwell was a genius and Bush's former aide Karl Rove took their strategies right out of Orwell's writings.
Some other good examples:
The Clear Skies Initative allowed companies to pollute more
No Child Left Behind allowed the government to close schools that didn't perform to standard
With doublethink, people may get more liberty, it just might not be us.
Support the Separation of Church & State!
Freedom From Religion Foundation
*hangs head in shame and shuffles barefoot back into the kitchen*
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