Free Republic

New York City- Liberty Counsel has settled the lawsuit it filed on behalf of State Senator Ruben Diaz and parents of public schools students against the New York City Department of Education (DOE) over a school billed as the first "gay high school" in the nation. Liberty Counsel filed suit soon after the City's July 2003 announcement that Harvey Milk High School would become a publicly-funded school, and would continue to admit only "gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning" youth. The school was originally governed by the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) a private pro-homosexual organization. Liberty Counsel's suit challenged the legality of...

Arlington, VA - One day after Liberty Counsel filed suit in Arlington Circuit Court on behalf of Tim Bono and his company against Arlington County Human Rights Commission, the Commission dismissed the complaint filed by lesbian activist Lilli M. Vincenz, stating there was no valid claim of discrimination against Mr. Bono. Ms. Vincenz filed a complaint with the Commission under the county's nondiscrimination ordinance, when Bono Film and Video refused to copy Gay and Proud and Second Largest Minority for Ms. Vincenz due to its content. Mr. Bono's company does not duplicate material that is obscene, could embarrass employees, hurt...

A county in Virginia has cited a farmer there because he hosts Thursday night worship services in his barn on a 900-acre farm. According to a statement from Liberty Counsel, which is representing the man, Garland Simmons recently received a Notice of Violation from Bedford County stating that his barn cannot be used for religious services. Simmons' 900-acre piece of property apparently isn't zoned for such meetings. "Barns in Bedford County can apparently be used for dancing to the tunes of Toby Keith or Reba, but a church service reciting the Psalms of David or praise and worship with Casting...

Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a ruling by a federal court of appeals to stand that declared public schools cannot censor the religious viewpoints of students in class assignments. The case, Baldwinsville School District v. Peck, involved a school district's censorship of a kindergartner's art poster that contained a picture of Jesus. Liberty Counsel represents Antonio Peck, the student whose poster was censored. When attending kindergarten at Baldwinsville Elementary School in Syracuse, New York, Antonio's teacher instructed the class to draw posters regarding their understanding of the environment. Antonio drew a poster depicting children holding hands...

Press Release April 12, 2006 Liberty Counsel and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays Launch the "Change is Possible Campaign" Virginia - Today, Liberty Counsel and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays ("PFOX") kicked off their joint "Change is Possible Campaign." Liberty Counsel is a national public interest law firm with offices in Florida and Virginia and hundreds of affiliate attorneys in all fifty states. PFOX is a national organization that supports families touched by homosexuality, advocates for the ex-gay community, and educates the public on sexual orientation. In the past several years, as "tolerance" and "diversity" have...

(AgapePress) - State representatives in Oklahoma have approved proposed legislation that would require public libraries to place sexually explicit materials in a separate section and to distribute such materials only to adults.Should House Bill 2158 become law, it would keep tax dollars from libraries that refuse to protect children from sexually explicit library materials. Representative Sally Kern's bill passed 60-33 and now heads to the Oklahoma Senate. The bill states that unless a library has taken action to place "all children and young adult materials that contain homosexual or sexually explicit subject matter" in an area apart from the...

(AgapePress) - The United States Supreme Court may hear a case involving a school district's censorship of an art poster that a kindergartener drew for a school assignment -- a drawing that was partly suppressed by school officials because it contained the child's depiction of Jesus.The case involves Antonio Peck, who was a kindergarten student in the late 1990s at Baldwinsville Elementary School in Syracuse, New York. The boy's teacher told members of the class to draw posters illustrating their understanding of the environment. Antonio's poster featured children holding hands and encircling the globe and people picking up trash and...

Wisconsin's heart of whiteness is intact. There will be no diversity today at Viroqua High School. For the second time in two years, students in the district, nearly 99 percent of them white, won't hear from an American Indian speaker, a person with disabilities or anyone who doesn't look like them. For this, we can thank the Liberty Counsel, the same group that kept Ridgeway schoolchildren safe from hearing a kid dressed like a Christmas tree sing nonapproved lyrics to the tune of "Silent Night." Apparently, the counsel was worried that blue-eyed, blond Matthew or Megan would come home from...

Viroqua, WI - Viroqua High School officials chose to cancel tomorrow's Diversity Day activities after Liberty Counsel presented legal precedent requiring inclusion of the viewpoints of Christians and former homosexuals. The school scheduled sessions for the students that presented the viewpoints of Hmong, Jews, Muslims, Native Americans, African-Americans, homosexuals, Latinos, Buddhists, the physically disadvantaged, and the economically disadvantaged, but not Christians or former homosexuals. Diversity Day would have been held tomorrow, March 23, 2006. After a school official stated that the viewpoints of Christians and former homosexuals would be excluded, a resident contacted Liberty Counsel on behalf of many other...

Amid controversy over a homosexual speaker, a high school in Wisconsin has canceled its "Diversity Day" event scheduled for tomorrow. Speakers at Viroqua High School in Viroqua, Wisc., for the biannual event were to include Hmong, Jewish, Muslim, American Indian, African American, Latino, Buddhist, physically handicapped and poor people, the La Crosse Tribune reported. The paper said, however, the event was called off late last week after the Florida-based public-interest legal group Liberty Counsel raised a potential challenge, insisting the program include the viewpoint of a former homosexual. The last event, in 2004, initially was canceled by the school board...

Winchester, VA - In the case of Miller v. Jenkins, Virginia Circuit Court Judge John R. Prosser ruled that a Vermont civil union may not be registered in the state because the laws of Virginia do not permit civil unions or same-sex marriage. Lisa Miller is represented by Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel and Rena Lindevaldsen, Senior Litigation Counsel of Liberty Counsel and adjunct professor of law at Liberty University School of Law. The case involves Lisa Miller, her biological child, and Janet Jenkins. In December 2000, Lisa and Janet, while living in Virginia, obtained...

Tallahassee, FL – Liberty Counsel filed a brief with the Florida Supreme Court defending a state law that exempts Bibles, religious publications and ceremonial items from sales tax. The lawsuit was filed by The Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida, Inc. (“Wiccan”) against the Department of Revenue. Wiccan says it paid sales tax on the purchase of the Satanic Bible and the Witch’s Bible Compleat. Instead of seeking a refund, Wiccan filed suit, claiming Florida Statute 212.06(9) violates the Establishment Clause. Florida law exempts from sales tax “the use, sale, or distribution of religious publications, Bibles, hymn books, prayer books, vestments,...

'Jesus Christ' not welcome at public meetingsJewish group claims any reference at government meetings 'unconstitutional'Any reference to "Jesus Christ" during a prayer at a government meeting is "unconstitutional." That's the opinion of the Jewish defense group the Anti Defamation League which is urging a Florida community to adopt a policy banning sectarian prayers making reference to any specific deities."If invocations are done, they have to be, according to (a 1983) Supreme Court decision, such that they do not advance any particular faith or belief," ADL spokesman Andrew Rosenkranz told the Palm Beach Post. "The reason being, you try and make...

  September 2001 COMPULSORY VACCINATIONS THREATEN RELIGIOUS FREEDOMby Mathew D. Staver Most people associate vaccinations with the eradication of disease. Vaccinations have been a part of American life for decades. However, many people object to mandatory vaccinations for religious reasons. Oftentimes, these individuals are told that they have no choice and must receive the vaccinations. You may be surprised to learn that some vaccinations are derived from aborted fetal tissue. Vaccines for chicken pox, Hepatitis-A and Rubella were produced solely from aborted fetal tissue. Even most physicians who oppose abortion do not realize that these three vaccines are made...

(AgapePress) - The president of Liberty Counsel says the federal government should issue guidelines designed to prevent religious discrimination in nursing homes and assisted living centers during the Christmas season.Senior citizens in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts will now be able to celebrate Christmas, thanks to the intervention of Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based law firm that specializes in religious liberties. Officials at senior citizens' centers in three communities -- Winter Park, Florida; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and Melrose, Massachusetts -- had placed restrictions on Christmas programs or displays. In the Winter Park case, for example, residents of an assisted living center were told...

Between his campaign against President Gerald Ford in 1975-76 and his race against Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan delivered more than 1,000 radio broadcasts, running about three minutes apiece, writing nearly all of them himself. In one broadcast during the Christmas season, Mr. Reagan told a story about Christmas in the Ukraine before and after Communism. In an effort to resist Christians, Communist leaders secularized a favorite Ukrainian Christmas carol, "Nova Radist Stala" (Joyous News Has Come to Us). The original song began with these words: "The joyous news has come which never was before. Over a cave above a manger...

Orlando, FL - Liberty Counsel has sent two separate demand letters to housing authorities subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development demanding that they reverse their positions regarding Christmas. Winter Park, FL - The Housing Resource Development Corporation has informed its senior citizens that they may not sing Christmas carols. Residents have also been told that they may not have outside religious groups or churches sing Christmas carols in the facility. Representing one of the residents, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter stating that the housing authority is violating the Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601...

Dodgeville, WI - Ridgeway Elementary School has now dumped "Cold in the Night" from its "winter program." After receiving an avalanche of phone calls and emails, late yesterday afternoon, Debra Messer, the District Administrator, confirmed that "Silent Night will be sung. Cold in the Night will not be sung." Liberty Counsel sent two letters to school officials on behalf of concerned parents demanding that the school drop "Cold in the Night" and include "Silent Night" in its original version. The school's "winter program" has included decorating classrooms with Santa Claus, Kwanza, Menorahs, and La Befana (a Christmas witch). During this...

Orlando, FL – Liberty Counsel has sent two separate demand letters to housing authorities subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development demanding that they reverse their positions regarding Christmas. Winter Park, FL – The Housing Resource Development Corporation has informed its senior citizens that they may not sing Christmas carols. Residents have also been told that they may not have outside religious groups or churches sing Christmas carols in the facility. Representing one of the residents, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter stating that the housing authority is violating the Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601...

In another case again involving a government entity – this time in New York City – a legal memo posted on the Liberty Counsel’s website was enough to aid employees of the Environmental Protection Agency to reclaim some Christmas spirit. The agency had allowed Hanukkah banners and had previously allowed the celebration of Diwali, an Indian holiday. However the agency did not allow for Christmas banners, red and green decorations, and even took down a “holiday tree,” according to Liberty Counsel. After the Liberty Counsel memo was circulated among the employees, 115 petitions of them signed petitions demanding that the...