Court bans religious gifts to classmates

The Washington Times ^ | September 21, 2003 | Julia Duin

[yonif]

Kindergartners and first-graders may not distribute to their classmates gifts that bear a religious message, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of a New Jersey elementary school in forbidding a boy from giving out pencils with the message "Jesus loves the little children" with a heart symbol substituted for the word love.

[tpaine]

Using a four-year old surrogate for this conduct is reprehensible. How about a kids giving a classmate a "gift" of a pencil that promotes the virtues of---pick your most vehemently opposed antiAmerican group, policy, etc. What then would be the response of all those sanctimonious posters who would object to something they believe is not appropriate for a class like the one mentioned here?
51 -middle-



Good point.

Could you imagine the reaction if a little kid was handing out "Abortion is Free Choice" labeled pencils?

[AppyPappy]

Libertarians are funny. When religion comes up, they start slapping on the jackboots.

[f.Christian]

On patrol ... public school police --- planet of the ape republic !

fC ... The rag head taliban in America is the aclu ...

just like the ones in mecca - afghanistan ---

blowing up thousand year old Buhdda statues !

BACKGROUND

"The ACLU has often been criticized for "ignoring the Second Amendment" and refusing to fight for the individual's right to own a gun or other weapons. This issue, however, has not been ignored by the ACLU. The national board has in fact debated and discussed the civil liberties aspects of the Second Amendment many times."

"We believe that the constitutional right to bear arms is primarily a collective one, intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias to assure their own freedom and security against the central government. In today's world, that idea is somewhat anachronistic and in any case would require weapons much more powerful than handguns or hunting rifles. The ACLU therefore believes that the Second Amendment does not confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns or other weapons nor does it prohibit reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration."

... link below !

eas ...

"No. The ACLU says the First Amendment protects their right to free speech (( atheism )) , which the Second does not protect your right to keep and bear arms."

"I was going to say they don't understand the concept that the militia is made up of the very people referenced in the text of the amendment. But they do get this, and very well. They simply know that when the people are completely disarmed, there is no impediment to the ... ACLU becoming --- a latter-day Politburo."

"I'm telling you ... gather weapons and ammo now (( knowledge - associates - VOTES )) --- while you still can."

50 posted on 03/28/2002 4:02 PM PST by Euro-American Scum

fC ...

Haven't the atheists founded a country to your liking so you can move there ?

[glory]

No kidding--I don't need to abridge other's freedom of PRIVATE religious activity on public grounds when I'm offended and I can't offend theirs. Ultimately this is the answer. If people's LEGAL PRIVATE activities in a public place become too much to bear, you look for alternatives. As long as practicing one's religion is legal(and prolestizing is part of the package with many Christian sects), I don't see how this school can do anything about it. They asked EVERY child to bring someting in to share, not just the Christian kids. The Christian kid paid for and distributed the item himself during a sharing time that would have been conducted regardless of the items brought in so the schools did not purchase, distribute, or even allow a special time just for this one kid to share his items. How they can say that they are endorsing his religion in any way is beyond me. AS long as Christians are footing the bill for said schools too, I won't be told to take my children elsewhere and shut up. I do homeschool, but I will keep interjecting myself on school issues as long as those same schools continue to collect my tax dollars to support them. "They" want Christians to butt out quietly, they can see fit to refund me and others Christians schooling outside of the public avenue a generous portion of the money that I put into the schools.

[tpaine]

middie:
The Third Circuit is absolutely correct. This sort of prostelization has never been permitted in my knowledge.


Wrong. Completely inaccurate.
This sort of religious promotion was expected and demanded by our own Federal Government and indeed practiced in American communities and public schools until roughly the late 1940's.
-invar-


I left District 26 grade school in '49..
If ANYone, child, parent or teacher, had ran around our school promoting any specific type of religion, some sore noses would have resulted at the next PTA meeting.

It never would have gotten to court in those days.

[tpaine]

You're funny, pap..
Whenever our freedoms are discussed, you say something weird about libertarians.

[Rome2000]

... I hope Madalyn Murry O'Hare is happy with her legacy ... (not that she's around anymore) ...

She got what she deserved.

[Gritty]

If I wanted my kids to get religion in school, I would send them to a private religious school.

And if I wanted my kids to get the same sex education they get in public skoolz, I would send them to a whorehouse!

It's a shame the little tyke didn't hand out lubricated Trojans instead of Jesus pencils. "Everybody" would have been OK with that, and the 3rd Circus would have upheld "Freedom Of Speech"!

[AppyPappy]

That's because it's the truth. They either demand freedom be curtailed or hide behind the old "We shouldn't have government schools".

[f.Christian]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/972219/posts?q=1&&page=101

To: lugsoul

Jusge Moore is standing up for the rights of all. Religious freedom is for all. Free speech is for all. The first amendment is for all. The ACLU is trying to restrict our freedoms to only what they approve (atheism).

129 posted on 08/28/2003 3:18 PM PDT by Jim Robinson

(Conservative by nature... Republican by spirit... Patriot by heart... AND... ANTI-Liberal by GOD!)

Someday in this life figure out the difference between a liberal and a conservative ... the ' fly ' --- thought warp - cocoon ?

[Rome2000]

Could you imagine the reaction if a little kid was handing out "Abortion is Free Choice" labeled pencils?

Yeah, imagine if kids had a Halloween Party!

Or, God forbid, the schools were closed on Christmas day!

[tpaine]

What freedom have I demanded be curtailed?

And, -- I have no problem at all with public schools that are based on & support our constitutional principles.

[Porterville]

What does the school care?? Let the kids beat him up or accept him during recess.

[tpaine]

"Free Republic is a place for people to discuss our common goals regarding the restoration of our constitutionally limited republican form of government.
If people have other agendas for FR, I really wish they would take them elsewhere."

Thanks, Jim
226 posted on 2/7/02 4:01 PM Pacific by Jim Robinson

[CodeMonkey]

It makes me, a non-Christian want to give what meager amount of money I have to donate to the local gideons so they can hand out more bibles in public places just to tell the court to bugger off.

[moneyrunner]

”I left District 26 grade school in '49.. If ANYone, child, parent or teacher, had ran around our school promoting any specific type of religion, some sore noses would have resulted at the next PTA meeting.”

If you are right, your schools were intolerant even then.

I received a small copy of the New Testament at my public school. So did my classmates. I wonder which one of us had the most common experience; your cosmopolitan liberalism or my Middle American patriotism and love of God and country?

[f.Christian]

Do you think we will have a national drink someday too ...

banning colas --- tofu - no meat !

No coffee on public land --- herb teas only !

Public ... schools -- drinks -- snacks !

Clean thought - air freaks ... NO smoking - thinking - speech (( verbal or written )) ?

[PurVirgo]

LOL - When was the last time the government listened to you?

When was the last time your petition for a redress of grievances was aknowledged?

When was the last time your congresscritter personally answered your calls for change with a reply of "I'll try"?

I don't say this out of apathy - I'm just tired of rhetoric of what our gov't is "supposed" to do, when generations ago, this was lost.

[weegee]

Silly me. I thought it was a festival honoring patriotic Irish Americans by drinking green beer.

Patriotic nothing. That's the racist day when non-Irish mock the Irish by adding O' or Mc in front of their name and use it as an excuse to get drunk.

Imagine if non-black America chose to celebrate MLK or "Black History Month" in a similar fashion. Or heavens forbid, "Gay Pride Week".

[King Prout]

then FIGHT.