Students Sue Pennsylvania School For Ban on 'Distributing Bibles'
Members of the Bible club at Mechanicsburg Area High School denounce policy
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Student at a Pennsylvania high school has filed a lawsuit after being banned from distributing Bibles during lunch break, according to reports.
Members of the Bible club at Mechanicsburg Area High School claimed the school's new policy on handing out written materials is in direct violation to free speech, according to PennLive.com.
The students are being represented by the Independence Law Center lawyers Jeremy Samek and Randall Wenger.
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Both lawyers claim that the district’s policy is overly broad.
The schools have banned the distribution of all literature, including non-religious books, during the school hours by policy.
The district's response, PennLive reported:
In an email, Mark Leidy, the superintendent of Mechanicsburg schools, said the law center lawyers are engaging in a “publicity student” rather than a productive dialog with the school.
He disputed their contention that the students had submitted the appropriate formal request.
He also said the district “looks forward” to respond to the suit in court.
As an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, the Independence Law Center is also a conservative Christian nonprofit organization.
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Samek and Wenger are representing the students free of charge.
According to my mytwintiers:
The group leaders say high school principal David Harris denied their request to hand out Bibles at lunch.
At the beginning of the school year, they say Harris also denied permission to post flyers for club meetings unless they removed a Bible verse.
Last April, Governor of California, Jerry Brown proposed a ban on sales of the Bible and books that promote Biblical teachings he claimed to include "hate speech" aimed at gay and transgender people.
Brown, along with the state assembly, proposed to expedite the bill through the house to promote the regulations.
Assembly Bill 2943 will threaten the flexibility of religion and First Modification rights of Christians in California
By using the state's "consumer fraud statute" to restrict religious liberty and free speech.
The bill also endeavors to prevent sales of the Bible since it consists of verses that are 'outside' what Governor Brown deems to be "appropriate teaching" on sexuality matters.
