Posted on 06/03/2011 7:33:13 PM PDT by DaveyB
A federal appeals court has ruled that New York City can ban churches from using public school facilities for Sunday worship services and does not violate free speech.
Thursday's 2-1 decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower court ruling that allowed the Bronx Household of Faith to hold services in a public school.
The justices said that it could unconstitutionally convert schools into state-sponsored Christian churches on weekends. ======snip========== “If we do not get an emergency stay, the churches could be thrown out by the school district,” Lorence told Fox News Radio. ======snip========== Judge Leval also took issue with the evangelical church’s membership. “Bronx Household acknowledges that it excludes persons not baptized, as well as persons who have been excommunicated or who advocate the Islamic religion, from full participation in its services.” Leval wrote.
But it all boiled down to a key point, the judges decided. “In the end, we think the board could have reasonably concluded that what the public would see, were the Board not to exclude religious worship services, is public schools, which serve on Sundays as state-sponsored Christian churches,” Leval wrote.
more at link
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
When a building is leased out it is leased out.
It doesn't change its nature as a building just because the lessee says or does something.
I think the proper test is not if the public school property is being used for ‘religious’ purposes, but instead if it is being denied to the very public who funds its existence.
When I was in elementary school, a group of people started a church and church was held in my school’s cafeteria every Sunday. As far as I know, no one complained. More and more people joined in and eventually they brought property and moved into a permanent building. They continued to grow and built a really large church building. That would never happen now.
I miss America.
This sort of second-class treatment should be taken as an act of war against the people of this country.
Christians are required by law, under penalty of imprisonment to pay taxes that build/maintain public schools. But are not allowed to use them (even if a fee is required for rental)? And this applies to NO other group? If a gay rights group wants to hold a meeting that’s OK, but a church is NOT? How can that be legal/constitutional?
Another reason that the government should get out of the education business. Education is not really a “public” concern but is really a family concern.
If we could get the majority of Christian families to remove their children from public schools the enter system would collapse. We would no longer need to “pay taxes that build/maintain public schools” or to support teacher unions, etc. As an extra advantage, the Christian families would not be sending their children too the scornful to learn (see Psalms 1:1)...which should lead to a smarter and wiser generation. I would think that our entire culture could change for the better...but it will have to start at the family level.
This won’t go over well in Texas. We do it all the time.
Lots of public schools in Maricopa County allow churches to hold their services on their premises. The ACLJ has fought for this right in the past and the Supremes have upheld the right of churches to rent school properties.
Course, the best idea is to eradicate government education.
This ruling was from a Federal Court - ergo the whole nation is effected. There are hundreds of thousands of churches that could be ousted. In Colorado the schools enjoy receiving the revenue that comes from the rent, but that may be over as well.
This has already been settled by the SC years ago. Free Use Act I believe. As long as a group is not seen as a public threat they are allowed to use public facilities.
Scrap that is was case law and I can’t remember what the case was...
The precedent is not binding outside of the appeals district. Conflicting precedents occur quite regularly. It will, however, likely end up in the USSC.
“The ruling means that dozens of churches that rent public school buildings in New York City could face eviction by the end of June.”
I agree with you. As long as the rent is a real rent, comparable to what they could get from another renter, and not a token amount, I don’t see the problem.
Of course, the property should also be available to rent by any organization — soccer & basketball leagues, flea markets, farmers markets, gun shows, collectibles, car shows, etc. that only need weekend space. If any other potential renter is rejected, even though they are willing to pay higher rent, or if the property is not marketed to others so the church becomes the only available renter, then what the church is willing to pay is not a real rent.
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