ACLU: We destroyed the First Amendment in order to save it
Posted on October 28, 2007
I had to laugh when I saw this press release from the ACLU: Federal Court Agrees with ACLU: Schools Can Protect Both Gay Students and Religious Speech
CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court today agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union, ruling that a school policy designed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students from harassment went too far in squelching the right of some religious students to express their views on homosexuality.
“The court understood what we’ve been saying all along - that you don’t have to violate anyone’s First Amendment rights to protect gay and lesbian students from being harassed at school,” said Sharon McGowan, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. “Respecting students’ rights to express their religious views about gay people and keeping gay students safe at school aren’t mutually exclusive, and schools can and should do both.”
Today’s 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that two things the school did went too far: a statement in the school’s training video that said students don’t have “permission” to say something when they disagree with another person’s view and a policy that said students couldn’t use language that has “the effect of insulting or stigmatizing an individual.” School officials have since removed those parts of the training and policy, but the plaintiff wanted a court to rule on their constitutionality.
Sounds like the ACLU was in the right on this one…that is until you know how the school came to institute a tyrannical program in the first place. No, this isn’t what the ACLU “was saying all along.”
The ACLU filed suit against this school several years ago on behalf of students who wanted to form a “Gay-Straight Alliance” club. The ACLU argument for this type of sodomy-promotion club are constitutionally sound on Equal Access grounds (though, natch, the ACLU has argued against a Christian club being permitted using the opposite argument in a case currently at the 9th Circuit), but that isn’t the problem. The ACLU claimed that because “anti-gay harrassment” was “widespread” at the school (charges that were completely inflated, but this rural school district was being attacked by the ACLU, so of course it did what it was told), part of letting the scared-shirtless district off the hook would be the implementation of the very policies and program the ACLU is claiming the federal court “agreed” with it about!
In 2005, the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against the school for enforcing the policies the ACLU demanded. No doubt the ACLU would agree with the manner and course of the implementation of these policies had ADF not filed suit to protect the rights of students constitutionally-vicitmized by the ACLU-inspired speech suppression, but the ACLU had to cover its 6 once ADF smoked this thing out. Not only was this “tolerance training” mandatory (students would be penalized academically for refusing to attend, even if their parents excused them), students were not even permitted to voice an opposing viewpoint! The ACLU is claiming that the school went too far, but who really believes the ACLU would have jumped in had it not been for the ADF which exposed the program the ACLU demanded and surely had to know how it was being run.
Of course the infantile ACLU can’t resist name-calling in its press release. Instead of acknowledging ADF’s stand for the First Amendment in a case the ACLU surely would not have brought itself, it instead refers to an “anti-gay legal organization.” Hey ACLU, do you mean that same group that is cleaning your clock in courts all across the country over and over again. Win a marriage case against ADF lately…or ever?
ADF: 6th Circuit rules in favor of Boyd County student, reinstates free speech case
CINCINNATI — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have succeeded in their appeal of a federal judge’s decision against a Boyd County, Ky., student. A former school district policy prohibited the student from saying to other students that homosexual behavior is wrong. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Friday reversed a ruling in favor of the school district and sent the case back to trial.
“Christian students and other students who do not approve of homosexual behavior are not second class simply because of their perspective. Silencing students because of their viewpoint is a clear violation of their constitutional rights,†said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster, representing student Timothy Morrison. “This student’s free speech rights were certainly violated, and we’re pleased the case will proceed to trial.â€
This case may get onto the ACLU’s pathetically short list of examples of how the ACLU “defends Christians.” Funny thing about that list is that the ACLU can only manage to scrape up a few cases over the past decade where it has “defended Christians” when the ACLU claims to file more than 6,000 cases a year. Several of those cases are not even their cases, rather the ACLU made an amicus appearance, nothing more. Yes, the ACLU deserves credit for weighing in the right side of an issue as it does from time to time. But the First Amendment is supposedly its bread, butter, jam and leg of lamb, and it should, if it is telling the truth about an equally vigorous defense posture when it comes to Christians as opposed to the various bizarre individuals and groups (child rapists who want to roam parks to rape even more children, NAMBLA, Fred Phelps, etc.) it is deservedly infamous for carrying the banner for, be able to pojnt to many more directly-litigated cases in its own defense.
This case is unique in that it offers a clear example of the ACLU starting a fire then asking for a medal when others are forced to put it out.
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Child Exploitation, Homosexual Agenda, News
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“ACLU: We destroyed the First Amendment in order to save itâ€
I did something like that once.
Great post! I’m linking to this in my roundup of ADF news, and I hope to get out a blogburst this week, as well. This ought to warm the hearts of the libs on my Gather blog. Trackback’s not working on my LEAVWORLD blog, either, but I’ll post it there, of course. Thanks, Glib!
I ended up doing a lengthy excerpt from this post, with full accreditation, and a link. Thanks again! You guys are great!