| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
27 Oct 2005 07:56:21 AM |
| Object: |
No church graduations |
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051027/OPINION/510270327/1004
October 27, 2005
No church graduations
School Board took right course is deciding not to fight an unwinnable case
In May, controversy erupted when the Brevard School Board was sued by two
local parents who said holding public high school graduations in a West
Melbourne church violated the separation of church and state.
We believed the parents were legally right, but because the commencements
were only days away, we argued they should proceed and be held in civic
locations in the future.
Federal Judge Gregory Presnell in Orlando said the same thing when he
allowed Bayside, Eau Gallie, Melbourne and Palm Bay high schools to
graduate at Calvary Chapel, which has a large cross in its sanctuary.
But he also warned the ceremonies likely violated the Constitution.
Since then, school officials have been considering a challenge to the
ruling because the spacious church provides an indoor, air-conditioned
setting at a time of year when thunderstorms can douse graduations.
On Tuesday, the board wisely reached a settlement with the parents that
included an agreement to hold graduations at the schools' football stadiums
or indoors at Florida Tech's Clemente Center.
Legal precedent is clearly established in such cases, and the board would
have been wasting at least $100,000 in taxpayer money to wage an unwinnable
fight.
The school district certainly had good intentions in selecting the church,
but it was wrong to venture down that road. Other suitable indoor venues
should be found.
We're glad to see them admitting their error and moving on.
*****************************************************************
Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the U.S. and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
.
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| User: "Jeff Strickland" |
|
| Title: Re: No church graduations |
28 Oct 2005 04:34:17 PM |
|
|
<buckeye-ELO@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:bjj1m1l3sebp8eqe5k2svovi1ftiue4fnv@4ax.com...
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051027/OPINION/510270327/1004
October 27, 2005
No church graduations
School Board took right course is deciding not to fight an unwinnable case
In May, controversy erupted when the Brevard School Board was sued by two
local parents who said holding public high school graduations in a West
Melbourne church violated the separation of church and state.
We believed the parents were legally right, but because the commencements
were only days away, we argued they should proceed and be held in civic
locations in the future.
Federal Judge Gregory Presnell in Orlando said the same thing when he
allowed Bayside, Eau Gallie, Melbourne and Palm Bay high schools to
graduate at Calvary Chapel, which has a large cross in its sanctuary.
But he also warned the ceremonies likely violated the Constitution.
Since then, school officials have been considering a challenge to the
ruling because the spacious church provides an indoor, air-conditioned
setting at a time of year when thunderstorms can douse graduations.
On Tuesday, the board wisely reached a settlement with the parents that
included an agreement to hold graduations at the schools' football
stadiums
or indoors at Florida Tech's Clemente Center.
Legal precedent is clearly established in such cases, and the board would
have been wasting at least $100,000 in taxpayer money to wage an
unwinnable
fight.
The school district certainly had good intentions in selecting the church,
but it was wrong to venture down that road. Other suitable indoor venues
should be found.
We're glad to see them admitting their error and moving on.
Let me try to boil this down to the most elemental points. A church can rent
school space to hold service, but a school can not rent church space.
Soon, we can't have a public street in front of a church because that would
be an endorsement of religion. Great!
.
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| User: "fred" |
|
| Title: Re: No church graduations |
28 Oct 2005 01:26:19 AM |
|
|
wrote:
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20051027/OPINION=
/510270327/1004
October 27, 2005
No church graduations
School Board took right course is deciding not to fight an unwinnable case
In May, controversy erupted when the Brevard School Board was sued by two
local parents who said holding public high school graduations in a West
Melbourne church violated the separation of church and state.
We believed the parents were legally right, but because the commencements
were only days away, we argued they should proceed and be held in civic
locations in the future.
Federal Judge Gregory Presnell in Orlando said the same thing when he
allowed Bayside, Eau Gallie, Melbourne and Palm Bay high schools to
graduate at Calvary Chapel, which has a large cross in its sanctuary.
But he also warned the ceremonies likely violated the Constitution.
Beware of non-specific references to the Constitution! Non-specific
references to the Constitution are a good move on the part of activist
judges who don't want to unconstitutionally limit religious expression
and then have people go and examine the 1st and 10th Amendments for
themselves.
"Article 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances."
"Article 10: The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people."
Regarding the mixed usage of buildings, heaven forbid if people were to
find out that Thomas Jefferson, Mr. "wall of separation" himself, not
only regularly attended worship services that were held in the hall of
the House of Representatives of the Nation's Capital, but also
authorized the US Marine Band to provide music for various worship
services in government buildings.
Since then, school officials have been considering a challenge to the
ruling because the spacious church provides an indoor, air-conditioned
setting at a time of year when thunderstorms can douse graduations.
On Tuesday, the board wisely reached a settlement with the parents that
included an agreement to hold graduations at the schools' football stadiu=
ms
or indoors at Florida Tech's Clemente Center.
Legal precedent is clearly established in such cases, and the board would
have been wasting at least $100,000 in taxpayer money to wage an unwinnab=
le
fight.
The school district certainly had good intentions in selecting the church,
but it was wrong to venture down that road. Other suitable indoor venues
should be found.
We're glad to see them admitting their error and moving on.
*****************************************************************
Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS =B7 Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the U.S. and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why =
"a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisne=
r,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
. . .
****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
.
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