| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
03 Nov 2005 06:18:45 PM |
| Object: |
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
A Dallas County man says a minister with the Northway Baptist Church
prohibited the placement of signs on church property opposing Proposition
2, a referendum proposal that bars same-sex marriage in Texas. The minister
also reportedly ordered the man to remove his car from the church parking
lot because the vehicle displayed a sign opposing the referendum.
The fellowship hall of the Northway Baptist Church is a polling place for
the Nov. 8 election, and early voting is under way now.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director,
"Americans have the clear constitutional right to take a stand on political
issues and to try to persuade voters to join them. It is wrong for clergy
to interfere in that process.
"If churches don't want free speech to take place on their property, they
should not rent their facilities to the government for use as polling
places," Lynn said. "This incident demonstrates why polling places ought to
be located at religiously neutral sites."
In a Nov. 2 letter to Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbert,
Americans United warned that the Texas Election Code permits electioneering
at polling places as long as it takes places outside a 100-foot radius.
Observed the AU letter, "Northway Baptist Church has prohibited the
placement of signs on all of its property, not just the area inside the
one-hundred-foot boundary. By designating Northway Baptist as a polling
place, Dallas County elections officials have violated the Texas Election
Code and may have violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"We therefore ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that the church
allows electioneering, including the placement of campaign signs, on its
premises, outside the one-hundred-foot boundary," the letter concluded.
Americans United said election officials have a legal obligation to move
the polling place to another location if the church refuses to allow
electioneering activities there.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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| User: "H.E. Eickleberry, Jr." |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
03 Nov 2005 09:42:36 PM |
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<buckeye-ELO@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:u3lkm1l2n6p329jfi6q4g3m74t85n0u5fb@4ax.com...
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
I don't know what you problem is: Federal law bans electioneering at ALL
polling places.
NOBODY is supposed to be there.
Ike
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| User: "Gregory Gadow" |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
03 Nov 2005 09:52:11 PM |
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"H.E. Eickleberry, Jr." wrote:
<buckeye-ELO@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:u3lkm1l2n6p329jfi6q4g3m74t85n0u5fb@4ax.com...
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
I don't know what you problem is: Federal law bans electioneering at ALL
polling places.
NOBODY is supposed to be there.
Every state places a limit as the boundaries of a polling place. In Washington,
if memory serves, a polling place extends to 250 feet around the perimeter of
the room used for the polling. Beyond that limit, campaign signs, leafletting
and other forms of electioneering are perfectly legal. Arizona has two limits,
one at 250 feet and one at 500 feet, with different activities permitted and
prohibited within those limits.
In many areas, electioneering just beyond those limits is a common practice.
Most would agree that electioneering just past the "polling place" boundaries is
a fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed right. The issue in this church case
seems to be that the church is refusing to permit this traditional right where
"just past" said limits is still on church property. If that is the case, it is
very unlikely that the church will win. If the clergy is allowing some
electioneering, but refusing to allow supporters of "objectionable" ballot
measures and candidates, the situation becomes an extremely clear case of First
Amendment violation.
--
Gregory Gadow
techbear@serv.net
http://www.serv.net/~techbear
"[W]e have never held that moral disapproval, without any other asserted
state interest, is a sufficient rationale under the Equal Protection
Clause to justify a law that discriminates among groups of persons."
- Sandra Day O`Conner, _Lawrence v Texas_
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=02-102
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| User: "Gray Shockley" |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
04 Nov 2005 05:39:41 AM |
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On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 15:42:36 -0600, H.E. Eickleberry, Jr. wrote:
<buckeye-ELO@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:u3lkm1l2n6p329jfi6q4g3m74t85n0u5fb@4ax.com...
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
I don't know what you problem is: Federal law bans electioneering at ALL
polling places.
NOBODY is supposed to be there.
Ike
Cite, please.
Around here, it seems to be about a hundred feet.
My old voting place was a fraternal (Elks?) lodge with a driveway
of about 200'. There were approximately 3,451,890 people in the
first one hundred feet and exactly none after that.
And I'll guarentee you that the US Justice department still casts
an eye on Mississippi (I'm in Vicksburg - a riva city and more a
riva city than a "typical MS town",)
So it goes . . .
Gray Shockley
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
03 Nov 2005 10:31:35 PM |
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wrote:
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
A Dallas County man says a minister with the Northway Baptist Church
prohibited the placement of signs on church property opposing Proposition
2, a referendum proposal that bars same-sex marriage in Texas. The minister
also reportedly ordered the man to remove his car from the church parking
lot because the vehicle displayed a sign opposing the referendum.
The fellowship hall of the Northway Baptist Church is a polling place for
the Nov. 8 election, and early voting is under way now.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director,
"Americans have the clear constitutional right to take a stand on political
issues and to try to persuade voters to join them. It is wrong for clergy
to interfere in that process.
"If churches don't want free speech to take place on their property, they
should not rent their facilities to the government for use as polling
places," Lynn said. "This incident demonstrates why polling places ought to
be located at religiously neutral sites."
In a Nov. 2 letter to Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbert,
Americans United warned that the Texas Election Code permits electioneering
at polling places as long as it takes places outside a 100-foot radius.
Observed the AU letter, "Northway Baptist Church has prohibited the
placement of signs on all of its property, not just the area inside the
one-hundred-foot boundary. By designating Northway Baptist as a polling
place, Dallas County elections officials have violated the Texas Election
Code and may have violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"We therefore ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that the church
allows electioneering, including the placement of campaign signs, on its
premises, outside the one-hundred-foot boundary," the letter concluded.
Americans United said election officials have a legal obligation to move
the polling place to another location if the church refuses to allow
electioneering activities there.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
The Minister needs to take a civics class.
Lesson 1: "Don't ***** With Democracy"
....
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
03 Nov 2005 10:33:43 PM |
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wrote:
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
A Dallas County man says a minister with the Northway Baptist Church
prohibited the placement of signs on church property opposing Proposition
2, a referendum proposal that bars same-sex marriage in Texas. The minister
also reportedly ordered the man to remove his car from the church parking
lot because the vehicle displayed a sign opposing the referendum.
The fellowship hall of the Northway Baptist Church is a polling place for
the Nov. 8 election, and early voting is under way now.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director,
"Americans have the clear constitutional right to take a stand on political
issues and to try to persuade voters to join them. It is wrong for clergy
to interfere in that process.
"If churches don't want free speech to take place on their property, they
should not rent their facilities to the government for use as polling
places," Lynn said. "This incident demonstrates why polling places ought to
be located at religiously neutral sites."
In a Nov. 2 letter to Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbert,
Americans United warned that the Texas Election Code permits electioneering
at polling places as long as it takes places outside a 100-foot radius.
Observed the AU letter, "Northway Baptist Church has prohibited the
placement of signs on all of its property, not just the area inside the
one-hundred-foot boundary. By designating Northway Baptist as a polling
place, Dallas County elections officials have violated the Texas Election
Code and may have violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"We therefore ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that the church
allows electioneering, including the placement of campaign signs, on its
premises, outside the one-hundred-foot boundary," the letter concluded.
Americans United said election officials have a legal obligation to move
the polling place to another location if the church refuses to allow
electioneering activities there.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
The Minister needs to take a civics class.
Lesson 1: "Don't ***** With Democracy"
....
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
03 Nov 2005 10:34:31 PM |
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wrote:
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Joe Conn, Rob Boston or Jeremy Leaming
202.466.3234 telephone
202.466.2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=mdaPEr0kqEaaUuumKgMLnw..
CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE, AMERICANS UNITED
TELLS TEXAS ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
Baptist Minister Barred Opponent Of Marriage Amendment From Distributing
Literature At Church Polling Place
Texas election officials may not locate a polling place on church property
and then allow clergy to control the political activities that take place
there, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
A Dallas County man says a minister with the Northway Baptist Church
prohibited the placement of signs on church property opposing Proposition
2, a referendum proposal that bars same-sex marriage in Texas. The minister
also reportedly ordered the man to remove his car from the church parking
lot because the vehicle displayed a sign opposing the referendum.
The fellowship hall of the Northway Baptist Church is a polling place for
the Nov. 8 election, and early voting is under way now.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director,
"Americans have the clear constitutional right to take a stand on political
issues and to try to persuade voters to join them. It is wrong for clergy
to interfere in that process.
"If churches don't want free speech to take place on their property, they
should not rent their facilities to the government for use as polling
places," Lynn said. "This incident demonstrates why polling places ought to
be located at religiously neutral sites."
In a Nov. 2 letter to Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbert,
Americans United warned that the Texas Election Code permits electioneering
at polling places as long as it takes places outside a 100-foot radius.
Observed the AU letter, "Northway Baptist Church has prohibited the
placement of signs on all of its property, not just the area inside the
one-hundred-foot boundary. By designating Northway Baptist as a polling
place, Dallas County elections officials have violated the Texas Election
Code and may have violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"We therefore ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that the church
allows electioneering, including the placement of campaign signs, on its
premises, outside the one-hundred-foot boundary," the letter concluded.
Americans United said election officials have a legal obligation to move
the polling place to another location if the church refuses to allow
electioneering activities there.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
The Minister needs to take a civics class.
Lesson 1: "Don't ***** With Democracy"
....
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| User: "Here come da FROGMARCH!" |
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| Title: Re: CLERGY CAN'T BAN ELECTIONEERING AT CHURCH POLLING PLACE |
03 Nov 2005 07:04:49 PM |
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"If churches don't want free speech to take place on their property, they
should not rent their facilities to the government for use as polling
places,"
Rent their facilities? Do they then pay tax on this non-religious income?
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