Judge halts Bible giveaway at Mo. school

[kskiska]

ST. LOUIS - A federal judge ordered a small-town school to suspend a program that gives free Bibles to students, saying it improperly promotes Christianity.

U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Perry also scolded school officials for continuing the program after warnings that it violated the Constitution.

South Iron Elementary in Annapolis, a town of 300 in southeastern Missouri, has quietly allowed Gideons International to hand out Bibles to fifth-graders for years. After concerns were raised last year, the then-superintendent consulted with the district's attorneys and insurance company and recommended that the handouts stop, but the school board voted to continue them.

Acting on behalf of two sets of parents from the district, the
American Civil Liberties Union sued in February in federal court in St. Louis.

more…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060907/ap_on_re_us/bibles_for_kids_lawsuit

[NMMNG]

1. Hmmm

"The defendants were repeatedly told that their actions violated the Constitution, but they chose not to heed those cautions,"



Yet no doubt the defendants were among those quibbling for the state ban against same-sex marriage. They only want to work with the law when it's on their side.


Hooray for the Judges and the ACLU!

[silverojo]

2. Can you forgive the pun?

<<Judge halts Bible giveaway at Mo. school>>

Thank GOD! :evilgrin:

[bowens43]

3. Good!!

[noonwitch]

4. The Gideons handed out Bibles at my school when I was a kid

This was 1974, maybe? They sent home permission slips-our parents had to sign them for us to get one, then they came the next day and gave us each one. My parents signed for us, but they didn't think it was right for the school to let that happen.

Also, the catholic kids took a bus to the local church twice a week for two hours (including the lunch period) for catechism. The local church didn't have a school to offer to catholic families in my area, so this was what they did instead. I'm reasonably sure that this is no longer done, less sure about the Gideons (because we are talking about Grand Rapids, MI).

The Gideons are not bad guys, though. They used to hand out Bibles on my college campus (which I think is totally okay, because college students are adults). They usually showed up when all the really nutty cults were out-we had Moonies, Krishnas, and Maranathas at Western. The Gideons weren't trying to convert people, they just handed them Bibles. But they were such nice, kindly older gentleman that they were liked by most students.

[Ellen Rose]

5. Local school districts

Most local school districts do as they please. They institute policies knowing they most likely won't stand up in court. My local school board did this with an attendance policy. The night they passed it they were warned that it was most likely not legal. They did it anyway, stating that they would use it until someone challenged it.
In 1999 my local school board voted three times to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom as an "historical document", alone with the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. The school lawyers did advise them to not make this move. They did it anyway-not money out of their pockets for lawyers and such. After a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU they were informed that each would be liable because they had acted against their lawyers advice.
Someone in that Missouri town was very brave to "buck the system". Their kids may be the ones who suffer the repercussions. These suits have to filed in the child's name, not the adults'.