'Day of Truth' Case Sees Elimination of Discriminatory School Policy
by Jim Brown
November 8, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A federal judge has ruled that officials in one North Carolina public school district can't prohibit students from handing out literature with a biblical message about homosexuality.
Earlier this year a student at Midway High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, wanted to distribute "Day of Truth" message card to fellow students. But school administrators told the student he could not pass out the literature because he would be "pushing his religion on others" and because "religion is not allowed in school." The "Day of Truth" is an alternative to the pro-homosexual "Day of Silence" -- an event sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) that is typically observed in April.
In May, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) sued the school on behalf of the student, Benjamin Arthurs, and in late August filed a motion for preliminary injunction, challenging a school policy that prohibited students from distributing pro-Christian literature. Now a U.S. district court judge in North Carolina has put an end to that policy.
David Cortman, senior legal counsel with ADF, says the preliminary injunction restores students' First Amendment rights. "The ruling was broad enough to make sure that it preserves the rights of all students to distribute literature, including literature," he explains. "The good news about the preliminary injunction motion [is that] nearly all of the time when you're victorious on a preliminary injunction, you also win at the next phase of the case because the court issues a ruling that in his opinion at this stage it's likely to be unconstitutional further in the case."
Cortman says the judge's action now allows the case Arthurs v. Sampson County Board of Education to move forward so the issue of viewpoint discrimination can be addressed. In explaining that argument, the attorney points out inconsistencies displayed by Midway High School officials.
"It's clearly unconstitutional when students participating in the Day of Silence, which supports the homosexual agenda, are permitted to observe their event by distributing flyers and so forth, but a student with an opposite perspective is prevented from communicating it during non-instructional time," Cortman says.
According to ADF, Arthurs was suspended from school while no restrictions were put on students who promoted the pro-homosexual observance.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
