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Forcing kids into anti-gay churches? Supreme Court won't hear the case
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Forcing kids into anti-gay churches?
Supreme Court won't hear the case
The U.S. Supreme Court today did a good thing for our nation's young people – especially gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth – when it denied an appeal from the Elmbrook School District, leaving in place a federal appeals court decision that said holding public high school graduations in a church was unconstitutional for violating the separation of church and state.
This case has a 14-year history and right-wing religious groups were hoping it might be a successive legal win following the Town of Greece case earlier this year in which a majority of justices said public prayer openings at governmental meetings were not constitutionally prohibited.
In fact, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his dissent in Monday's denial on the Elmbrook case cited the Town of Greece case as a reason why he believes his fellow justices should have granted the case a hearing.
Surely, Scalia isn't serious. The comparison demonstrates a profound misunderstanding – or willful obfuscation – of these two cases.
The Town of Greece case is about a short, opening prayer at a public governmental meeting. While there is a case to be made on such prayer possibly being coercive to those individuals attending the meeting – who may not particularly care for whatever brand of religion is being espoused by the individual saying the prayer – no one was alleging the Town of Greece instituted the prayers as a town-endorsed brand of religion. Rather, the town was acknowledging that it considers religion to be important enough for the community to give a nod to a brief expression of such religion – and not a particular religious creed or doctrine – at its meetings.
Now consider the Elmwood School District case where the local school decided it would use an evangelical church for its graduation service. I could only imagine how a young nonbeliever would feel about the fact that a pinnacle event in their secondary education experience would be held at a believers' place of worship.
Supreme Court won't hear the case
The U.S. Supreme Court today did a good thing for our nation's young people – especially gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth – when it denied an appeal from the Elmbrook School District, leaving in place a federal appeals court decision that said holding public high school graduations in a church was unconstitutional for violating the separation of church and state.
This case has a 14-year history and right-wing religious groups were hoping it might be a successive legal win following the Town of Greece case earlier this year in which a majority of justices said public prayer openings at governmental meetings were not constitutionally prohibited.
In fact, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his dissent in Monday's denial on the Elmbrook case cited the Town of Greece case as a reason why he believes his fellow justices should have granted the case a hearing.
Surely, Scalia isn't serious. The comparison demonstrates a profound misunderstanding – or willful obfuscation – of these two cases.
The Town of Greece case is about a short, opening prayer at a public governmental meeting. While there is a case to be made on such prayer possibly being coercive to those individuals attending the meeting – who may not particularly care for whatever brand of religion is being espoused by the individual saying the prayer – no one was alleging the Town of Greece instituted the prayers as a town-endorsed brand of religion. Rather, the town was acknowledging that it considers religion to be important enough for the community to give a nod to a brief expression of such religion – and not a particular religious creed or doctrine – at its meetings.
Now consider the Elmwood School District case where the local school decided it would use an evangelical church for its graduation service. I could only imagine how a young nonbeliever would feel about the fact that a pinnacle event in their secondary education experience would be held at a believers' place of worship.
